The time and place: Cotton Point, Georgia, just after World War II. The event: the murder of a fourteen-year-old black girl by a respected white citizen named Paris Trout, who feels he's done absolutely nothing wrong. As a trial looms, the crime eats away at the social fabric of Cotton Point, through its facade of manners and civility. Trout's indifference haunts his defense lawyer; his festering paranoia warps his timid, quiet wife; and Trout himself moves closer to madness as he becomes obsessed with his cause--and his vendettas.

Praise for Paris Trout

"A masterpiece, complex and breathtaking . . . [Pete] Dexter portrays his characters with marvelous sharpness."--Los Angeles Times

"A psychological spellbinder that will take your breath away and probably interfere with your sleep."--The Washington Post Book World

"Dexter's brilliant understanding of the Deep South has allowed him to capture much of its essence--its bitter class distinctions, its violence, its strangeness--with a fidelity of detail and an ear for speech that I have rarely encountered since Flannery O'Connor."--William Styron

"Dexter's powerfully emotional novel doesn't have any brakes. Hang on, because you won't be able to stop until the finish."--Chicago Tribune