Local Poet by Paul Trembling

A van. A girl. A horrible tragedy. And one man will never be the same again.

Rob Seaton was in the wrong place at the wrong time and now he's trying to figure out how to live with an unbearable guilt. How could the death of someone he didn't even know affect him so profoundly?

As he acquaints himself with the "local poet" posthumously through her writings and her circle of family and friends, Rob becomes more and more intrigued by her. With the assistance of a local librarian, he tries to understand what brought her to despair.  Rob discovers more than meets the eye and someone will stop at nothing to make sure secrets stay buried.

At under 200 pages, Local Poet focuses on a small number of characters over a short period of time. The story moves along fairly swiftly and becomes fully resolved at its conclusion--no worries of hanging story lines in this one.  With enough time, readers could finish in one sitting.

Local Poet would be a great choice for a quick read for a day at the beach or an airplane flight. Nothing too complicated and overall, an interesting mystery regarding the demons one young woman faced.The book includes a sneak preview of the first chapter from the author's next book, Local Artist.

Take some to explore the author's website, Yearning Blue.  While there you can learn about Trembling's family and background, and sample some of his poetry and short stories. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Local Poet from Kregel Publications for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.