The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly

by:  Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly
published by:  William Morrow
publish date:  October 1, 2013

Set against the backdrop of the historic 1927 Mississippi Flood, a story of murder and moonshine, sandbagging and saboteurs, dynamite and deluge-and a man and a woman who find unexpected love.

Ingersoll and Ham are on the hunt for missing Revenue agents and moonshiners when they happen upon an abandoned baby at a crime scene.  Being an orphan himself, Ingersoll takes a liking to the baby and despite telling Ham that he brought the baby to an orphanage he keeps little Junior for a few days.  Ing and Ham are assigned to look for the missing agents and the notorious moonshiner they were investigating in Hob Nob, Mississippi.  Ing knows he can't keep the baby any longer so he drops him off with a nice looking woman in Hob Nob by the name of Dixie Clay.  Ing and Ham are closing in on their man, who just so happens to be Dixie Clay's husband, and just in time, because the levees are going to hold back the flood waters much longer.  

I loved this book.  The characters were fantastic.  Ingersoll and Ham were colorful and fun and Dixie Clay was beautiful and tragic.  The setting was perfect.  I learned so much about the flood of 1927 that I never knew and it made me go research it more.  It was so fascinating.  Definitely check out some of the pictures, they're amazing.

This will be one of those books that I will recommend this upcoming holiday season.  The southern fiction fans will love it.  The historical fiction fans will love it.  I think it will have broad appeal.