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Hard Twisted

by C. Joseph Greaves (Goodreads Author)

3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 · rating details · 108 ratings · 35 reviews

In May of 1934, outside of Hugo, Oklahoma, a homeless man and his thirteen-year-old daughter are befriended by a charismatic drifter, newly released from the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. The drifter, Clint Palmer, lures father and daughter to Texas, where the father, Dillard Garrett, mysteriously disappears, and where his daughter Lucile begins a one-year o...more

Hardcover, First, 304 pages

Published November 13th 2012 by Bloomsbury USA (first published January 1st 2012)

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Dec 06, 2012 Tuck rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: basque, noir, this-ain-t-a-louis-lamour-type-of-p, western-rural-with-tractors-horse

very nice dust bowl noir, reminiscent of thompson Pop. 1280 and thompson and franklin Smonk among others. so desperatly poor folks, looking for a solution or at least a square meal perhaps let their hunger twist right and wrong, and if you eat when you are hungry, what's wrong with that, even if you have to hoodwink, rob, murder, for your beans. so pyschopath, his 13 year old "wife", and on the lam, end up in evertt ruess country, herding sheep, of all things. Everett Ruess: His Short Life, Myst ...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Robert Slaven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, first-reads

As usual I received this book from GoodReads as part of a giveaway. Also as usual, despite the very kind and generous consideration of getting a free book, I give my candid opinions below.

Hard Twisted is a wonderfully dark, gritty and true-to-life portrait of a young girl fallen in with the wrong crowd in the 1930s west. She is taken on a forced trip from town to town, one step ahead of the law until.... the ultimate resolution which I will not be so unkind as to reveal.

Greaves' novel combines s...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Vashtaylamiria rated it 3 of 5 stars

Greaves writes very descriptively of the Depression and the historical figures associated with it. What he seems to lack is an empathy for his own characters. This makes sense since he was a lawyer and parts of the book are written in trial format. It is a bit too harsh for me but then again that reflects the time it is supposed to be depicting! I can see why it won an award for historical novel however the main characters of Lucille, Dillard Garrett are not fleshed out enough for me. The ruthle...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Lori L (She Treads Softly) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hard Twisted by C. Joseph Greaves is an impressive fictional account of the real people Clint Palmer and Lottie Garrett. It is 1934 when 13 year old Lottie and her father, Dillard, meet Clint, a charming drifter, they both end up moving to Texas with him where Dillard suddenly disappears and Lottie is essentially kidnapped and left to depend on Clint, a psychopathic killer and sexual predator, during a year long ordeal. The narrative is told from Lottie's point of view as she and Clint end up tr...more Hard Twisted by C. Joseph Greaves is an impressive fictional account of the real people Clint Palmer and Lottie Garrett. It is 1934 when 13 year old Lottie and her father, Dillard, meet Clint, a charming drifter, they both end up moving to Texas with him where Dillard suddenly disappears and Lottie is essentially kidnapped and left to depend on Clint, a psychopathic killer and sexual predator, during a year long ordeal. The narrative is told from Lottie's point of view as she and Clint end up traveling together across the southwest and subsequently covers what may have happened in the John’s Canyon Murder and the “skeleton murder trial” of the Depression Era. Excerpts from a fictional trial are interspersed with Lottie's story.

In the Author's Note and Acknowledgements, Greaves notes: "Hard Twisted, although based upon real people and true events, is entirely a work of fiction. My first exposure to the saga of Clint Palmer and Lottie Garrett came in somewhat dramatic (Location 2770-2773)....That chance discovery began a personal odyssey that would play out in fits and starts over fifteen-odd years, setting me onto the trail of what I would come to regard as one of the great, untold stories of the American West. (Location 2776-2777).

When researching for the book, Greaves notes something that Lottie and her father didn't know: "Clint Palmer was a sexual predator and a career criminal who, when he first encountered young Lottie Garrett in May of 1934, was only four months removed from his latest incarceration, a three-year stint in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, for kidnapping, statutory rape, and violating the Mann Act. (Location 2854-2856)"

While still in manuscript, Hard Twisted was named Best Historical Novel in the Southwest Writers 2010 International Writing Contest, a well deserved honor. Hard Twisted is clearly a very atmospheric novel and the setting plays a role in Lucille's isolation and dependence on Clint. Although the reader knows from the beginning that something is going to go very wrong, the suspense grows as Lucille begins to figure out Clint's true nature while totally dependent upon him. Greaves does a great job with the historical setting and placing Lucille in the period.

Alas, there is nothing new under the sun. While we tend to think people are worse now, there were always those among us who are sociopaths and do not follow societal rules and norms. It is chilling to know that this is based on a true story. I also personally found the fictional trial questioning Lottie as some sort of femme fatale rather depressing. I would hope and pray that we have come a long way beyond blaming a victim.

Highly recommended - especially if you enjoy historical fiction set in the Depression.
http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Bloomsbury and Netgalley for review purposes.

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Jan 21, 2013 Laura Zimmerman rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was recommended to me by my fiance, who won it in a Goodreads drawing. He highly recommended it and I will pay it forward by offering my review and recommendation here.

Hard Twisted is the story of 13-year-old Lottie and her father, two people just barely scraping by in the 1930's. They have a chance encounter with Clint, who unbeknownst to Lottie and her father, has a less-than-savory past. Initially, Clint appears to be able to offer Lottie experiences that her own father can't offer...more This book was recommended to me by my fiance, who won it in a Goodreads drawing. He highly recommended it and I will pay it forward by offering my review and recommendation here.

Hard Twisted is the story of 13-year-old Lottie and her father, two people just barely scraping by in the 1930's. They have a chance encounter with Clint, who unbeknownst to Lottie and her father, has a less-than-savory past. Initially, Clint appears to be able to offer Lottie experiences that her own father can't offer her, which is one reason her father allows her to spend time with Clint unchaperoned. In addition, Clint is a con man and thus able to gain Lottie's father's trust quickly.

I won't give away much in my review but I will say that although the book is a work of fiction based on a true story, the entire book rings true. It's told from Lottie's perspective, a perspective that is naive and wary at the same time. Clint appeals to the young girl in her, the girl who wants to have another girl to play with and to ride horses with but quickly reveals himself to be not at all who he seems to be. Lottie's perspective is believeable, tragic, and sad. The reader is privvy to more experience and knowledge and from the reader's perspective it's difficult to understand how she could fall into her situation so seamlessly. On one hand, the reader wonders how Lottie can so easily accept Clint's explanations for events and on the other hand the reader wonders what else Lottie could have done, given her isolation and inexperience. The author does a good job of getting in Lottie's head, for lack of a better phrase, and telling us the story from the perspective of someone who was once innocent but had her innocence shattered by a man who had dark motives in life.

The author provides description of the land that Lottie and Clint pass through and evokes images from an old Western movie. He also evokes some feeling of what a day-to-day existence might have felt like back in that time, hoboing and camping at will and never knowing where the next meal might come from.

Hard Twisted is a dark novel, one that reminds the reader that there are always people like Clint, people who will manipulate and lie for their own gain. Knowing that the novel is based on events that actually happened makes the story that much more chilling.(less)

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Jan 22, 2013 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery, utah-info

The author was a trial lawyer, so this book is written in a way that you need to use more brain power to comprehend what is happening. Not everything is spelled out for you and if you add to it the change of the main character names, it makes it harder to scan if you don’t have a lot of time, but still want to know how the story ends.

For those who oppose language and situations true to the characters and time, you might not appreciate the story as much. With that being said, it is a great read...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Bessie James rated it 5 of 5 stars

Based on a true story from the dirty thirties, this fictional account is so well-researched, so well-written that I recommend it highly. It concerns the crimes of one Clint Palmer and the young girl that he abducted/coerced into travelling with him throughout the west on his crime spree. Even though it is a fictionalization of their travels, it has the ring of truth throughout. You can easily imagine yourself as thirteen year old Lottie, hard-scrabble poor, alone with this psychotic killer. A ma...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Karen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: australian, crime, review-books

The Great Depression is one of those eras in history that has been depicted in books and movies over and over again. Perhaps it's the obvious case of the more dire the circumstances in which people must find a way to survive, the more opportunity there is to explore those extremes, to consider how it is that the best and worst in people can emerge at times of great distress. It's also a period that lends itself to a certain style of cinematic portrayal, dark, dirty, deprived, depressed, it's har...more The Great Depression is one of those eras in history that has been depicted in books and movies over and over again. Perhaps it's the obvious case of the more dire the circumstances in which people must find a way to survive, the more opportunity there is to explore those extremes, to consider how it is that the best and worst in people can emerge at times of great distress. It's also a period that lends itself to a certain style of cinematic portrayal, dark, dirty, deprived, depressed, it's hard not to think grey and bleak.

There is something cinematic about HARD TWISTED which incorporates lyrical passages of writing and descriptions, creating a sense of that grey bleakness. It provides a very realistic feeling of a dire world in which lives are lived on the extremes of hardship and people struggle with the endless grind of hunger and homelessness with no obvious way out. It's a story that resonates through lots of hard economic times.

Winner of the Best Historical Novel of 2010 in the South West Writers International Writing Contest, there are strong echoes here of other classic depression and hard-times based fiction with dysfunctional worlds, people on the move, on the lookout constantly for a way out, some relief from the inevitability. Told mostly from the viewpoint of 13-year-old Garrett, HARD TWISTED is the story of an ex-con, hustler, charismatic charmer who is really a dangerous, murderous psychopath. It's also the story of a 13-year-old girl in an impossible situation.

The book employs a number of different viewpoints and timeframes. Much of it is the direct relating of current day events, mostly from Garrett's viewpoint, interspersed with the voices of other characters. Parts of the book are introduced by snippets of testimony at what is obviously a trial, the nature of which is revealed as the book progresses.

There is much to admire about this book, and yet, there were problems which meant that this reader often found herself lost and fighting a growing sense of disinterest. Which confounded me completely. Whilst there is absolutely no doubt that the word pictures being drawn were beautifully done, there was something indistinguishable about the character's voices, not helped at all by a total lack of quotation marks to indicate what was / wasn't dialogue. No idea why, all it did was make me toil backwards a lot - checking what / who / said / observed / saw / did / didn't. Confused... moi... frequently.

That confusion meant that whilst the multiple questions of why - why he did what he did / why she stayed - the interesting and instructive bits, especially as you knew who, and what wasn't that hard to work out, kept disappearing. It was disappearing into beautiful, dense, poetic, lyrical writing no doubt about that, but it was there, just out of reach, for so much of the book whilst this reader worked backwards and forwards through the text, trying to get focus.

Maybe it was ultimately that I came away from HARD TWISTED feeling like I'd been invited to a party where everybody else spoke in a different language. Beautiful to listen to, lovely to watch people interact, no idea why I was there. I got so bored with the constant tracking backwards and forwards, with the low-key, laid back glacial advancement, with the cleverness of the structure that I got frustrated with myself. It's doubtful that anybody else is going to have that reaction - the authority with which the time period is described, the way that the life is so beautifully drawn, undeniably mean it's going to be a book that other readers are just going to get. As much as I kept thinking I should be loving this book, I didn't loathe it, but I certainly obviously didn't get it.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
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May 24, 2013 Alene rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, history

A very interesting read, historical fiction on an outlaw and the girl he kidnapped / coerced into staying with him on the run for about a year across a number of states and the murder of one very old and very highly revered sheriff and his son in Utah's John's Canyon. I want to know more about the real case, but it was back in the 1930's and very much of the story is speculation, so I liked reading this book and forming a picture of what it was like then and how it could have all possibly happen...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Walt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Walt by: GOODREADS

RECEIVED FREE FROM GOODREADS. this impressive fictional recounting of Depression-era drifter Clint Palmer's real-life killing spree, told largely from the limited perspective of his 13-year-old girlfriend, Lottie Lucile Garret. Soon after the homeless Lottie meets him on the road in Oklahoma, her father disappears, and Lottie finds herself traveling alone with Clint through the American Southwest, gradually realizing that the ex-con is not just a charismatic, amoral hustler but a murderous psych...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book tells the story of a fourteen year old girl on the run from the law with her kidnapper, in 1930s Oklahoma. The book has an interesting historical atmosphere: the Great Depression, dust bowl, immigration in the south, the last Indian uprising. However, I think it lacks suspense. It tells the story without keeping you on edge, and that's where I think it fall short.

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May 16, 2013 Newtown Review of Books rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, crime-fiction

The story of Clint Palmer and Lucile Garret resembles that of Bonnie and Clyde in some ways but without the glamour – Clint is no Warren Beatty and Lucile is not Faye Dunaway.

To read full review: http://newtownreviewofbooks.com/2013/...

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Mar 28, 2013 John McKenna rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of those super-interesting, thinly promoted gems of literature which cross my desk only once in a blue moon and is so good, in my opinion that it should be required reading for high school English classes. Simply outstanding and will be enjoyed by all those who choose to read it.

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Jan 02, 2013 Sonia Reppe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: true-life-story

I'm probably going to remember this for a long time because Greaves created a real sympathetic character out of the ignorant, homeless, 13-yr-old Lottie who is manipulated (and kidnapped, basically) by con man and killer Clint Palmer. Based on true events from the 1930's.

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Mar 27, 2013 Carol Feldman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2-added-in-march, added-2013, fiction

This book only caught my eye because it was set in Oklahoma. I started it, not really expecting anything and assumed I would put it down quickly. However, based on a true story from the thirties, this fictional account is so well-researched, so well-written that I read it almost without a break. (I did not realize it was based on truth until I read the author's notes at the end - which just made what I thought was simply fiction just that much better.) I knew so many of these character types fro...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Rene Spector rated it 3 of 5 stars

An interesting and quick read...there were a few times when I felt ugly words were used for no reason, but that is just a pet peeve of mine. The author in general was able to create entire personalities of his minor characters in a sentence or two, I really like that, impressive.

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Jan 07, 2013 Steve Howes rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book started a bit slowly but turned out to be an enjoyable and exciting read. It became even more interesting after reading the author's notes at the end of the book and finding out that most of it is true. The book is a fictionalized account of an actual murder kidnapping case that took place during the 1930's.

One fact that was particularly interesting to me was the potential relationship of this case to the disappearance of Everett Ruess, a young artist and explorer who was never found....more

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Apr 16, 2013 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was exhausted when I finished this book. Next I had to look up all the people and the events to learn more.

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Jan 02, 2013 Judi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Judi by: Guy Savage

Shelves: read-in-2013

Excellently written fiction depicting true events set in 1934-35 west about a homeless drifter and a young girl. I read this based on Guy Savage's review: http://swiftlytiltingplanet.wordpress...

The cover artwork would have pulled me to read the book even without Guy's review.

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Apr 09, 2013 Roberta Morris rated it 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book. The story is gripping and doesn't let you go. I would have given it five stars, but the obsolete quotation marks made for difficult reading at times. That being said, GREAT BOOK!

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Apr 11, 2013 Karla Houston rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was thinking "4" until I read the author's note; then I changed my mind to "5".

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Apr 02, 2013 Melody marked it as to-read

Recommended to Melody by: Craig Izard

Craig just finished it and said it was great.

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Jan 02, 2013 Nadine Haney rated it 2 of 5 stars

A fictional account of a true crime between the recorded accounts.

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Apr 24, 2013 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dark, specific and beautifully written

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Mar 10, 2013 Wendy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This narrative is an interesting balance between bleak and beautiful. The style is terse, but there are a lot of quite lovely and layered descriptions. The main character was compelling and the story was a heartbreaker. I didn't love it, but I don't regret reading it.

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Apr 13, 2013 Melanie Snowden rated it 4 of 5 stars

Worth a read

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Mar 27, 2013 Monique rated it 4 of 5 stars

Based on a true story. I will be doing some research on the case after having read this.

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Feb 16, 2013 Karl Kastorf rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Thai is a tersely written and bleak book; references to Cormac McCarty are correct. The author draws sharp and interesting characters. The descriptions of the Four Corners area are colorful, but the listing of so many place names is tedious . You know the story will end badly but you just keep on reading because the prose is clear and the characters sharply drawn.

The failure to use quotation marks disturbs the flow of the prose.

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Jan 14, 2013 Simon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First rate. I read it in one sitting, then went back and read it straight through again, and liked it even more the second time. The characters --- especially Lottie, but even the minor players --- are sharply etched, and the narrative drives forward remorselessly. It reminded me of Annie Proulx, Flannery O'Connor and several other writers I hold in high esteem.

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Feb 01, 2013 Tara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Crime novel, based on the true story of a drifter who draws a young girl into his web, and goes on the run, all set in Depression era America. Makes you realise there was more to the 30s crime wave than Bonnie & Clyde, and Dillinger. And the sheer quality of Greaves' research and writing elevates it beyond mere pastiche.

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About C. Joseph Greaves

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Charles Joseph Greaves is an honors graduate of both the University of Southern California and Boston College Law School who spent 25 years as a Los Angeles trial lawyer before turning his attention to fiction.

HARD TWISTED (Bloomsbury), his debut literary novel, has been called "a taut and intriguing thriller" (London Sunday Times) and "a gritty, gripping read, and one that b...more

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