The Last Verse

Frost’s intriguing second novel (after Shadows of Pecan Hollow) follows a talented 19-year-old aspiring country singer and her travails in 1977 Nashville. Twyla Higgins, tired of her sheltered life in Texas, defies her domineering mother, Faith, and makes her way to Graceland to attend Elvis’s funeral. From there, she hitches a ride to Nashville, where she falls for rich pretty boy Chet Wilton, a middling guitarist who recognizes her songwriting talent. After sleeping with him, Twyla’s crushed when she learns Chet is engaged to magnetic singer Lorelei Ray. Following a violent argument on a boat, Twyla stabs Chet in self-defense and tries in vain to save him from drowning. Not long after, she hears Lorelei on the radio, singing a song Twyla had written about her guilt over Chet’s death. Lorelei later blackmails Twyla into writing the rest of her debut album in exchange for keeping quiet about Twyla’s involvement in Chet’s death. Frost turns many memorable phrases (“Like a circus, she would erect herself each morning and dismantle at night”) and each of the imperfect yet sympathetic characters are well-drawn, including workaholic former cop T. Lynn Struthers, who’s hired by the Wiltons to find Chet’s killer, and ambitious Lorelei, whom Twyla grows fond of in spite of the blackmail and jealousy. Classic country fans will love this. Agent: Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein, McIntosh & Otis. (Mar.)