Book description
2023 Maxy Awards Winner
Stephen Detals played professional baseball before flaming out in whiskey-fueled catastrophe.
His father and grandfather killed themselves on their 39th birthdays. Stephen is 38. He battles alcoholism, abandonment, suicidal tendencies, and lethal family history to survive his impending birthday.
This novel chronicles the final eight days…
Why read it?
1 author picked 39 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Are we doomed to meet the same fate as our ancestors? That’s the threat looming over failed baseball player and self-destructive alcoholic Stephan Detals, whose father and grandfather died by suicide on their 39th birthdays.
With Stephan’s 39th birthday coming in a few days, he returns to his hometown to learn the truth about his father and grandfather’s deaths in hope of avoiding their fatal destinies. Sojka creates a twisty mystery with fascinating characters and Texas gothic. He also keeps up the tension as the fateful date approaches.
I felt Sojka did a wonderful job evoking the Texas landscape and…
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