Shamus finalist DePoy (Easy) provides a delightful fireside feast in his sixth whodunit, set in the Georgia Appalachians. Upset with the closing of his folklore section in Burrison University's English department, Dr. "Fever" Devilin decides to spend his next few years writing and coming to grips with the ghosts of his past at the old family cabin up on Blue Mountain. But ghosts seem determined to start and end his journey. Childhood chum Skidmore Needle, now a local deputy, discovers a dead body at the cabin only minutes before Fever's arrival. The corpse turns out to be that of Fever's hitherto unknown half-brother and a messenger from their not-so-dearly departed mother. The cast of characters could've come out of Deliverance, from the dimwit Deveroe brothers to Fever's total city-slicker colleague and friend, Dr. Winton Andrews. A threesome of old men play music, drink 'shine and keep secrets, but Fever is determined to pry some answers from those who may have information about his half-brother's murder. The Devil's Hearth, an eerie outcropping, haunts the mountain and sets the book's tone, and Fever's old flame Lucinda adds some spark. DePoy combines a good mystery with a generous helping of history and legend. (Jan. 20)
