ONE ICY NIGHT

Pepper offers a thriller involving dangerous weather, mysteries of the past, and a woman abandoned at a dive bar in a small Mississippi town.

It’s 1994, and 20-year-old bass player Rook Kellum finds herself stranded at the bar after her bandmates leave her. Due to a particularly brutal ice storm, there’s little for Rook to do other than attempt to wait it out. While there, Rook interacts with a distinctly engaging cast of characters including the “middle-aged, burly…Southern Boy” Stalin, who owns the bar that bears his name; the local sheriff; and the erratic, drugged-out Carolton “Carl” Riley. As the night drags on, tensions escalate: The sheriff confiscates Rook’s fake ID, and it’s revealed that she’s not who she says she is—there’s a warrant out for her arrest, and she’s on the run from someone. Secrets and backstories are slowly revealed in flashbacks that effectively move the action beyond the four walls of the bar, allowing the characters to become more fully fleshed out; their motivations and histories are made clear in action that takes place in three distinct timelines over the course of a year. Readers will become invested in Rook’s fate as she navigates her way through tense situations. The more they learn about her past, the more they’ll admire her resilience and resourcefulness; the latter becomes most apparent after she escapes the bar and finds herself in a secluded cabin. There, Rook faces surprising and shocking difficulties as she finds herself fighting for her life. Overall, Pepper keeps the engaging story moving at a quick pace, and the drama of the ice storm ably enhances the physical and emotional danger that Rook finds herself in.

An unexpected and unpredictable thriller with vivid settings and a strong lead character.