Mother Fracker

What would you do if you were ex-journalist Tip Tyler? Here you are, living off the grid in pristine Rappahannock County, Virginia. Your daughter hits not one, but two deer. Two purple deer. Then you discover your neighbors are running a suspicious industrial site here among the rolling ranches and wooded hollows. And the comely engineer Roxx Bleigh seems to be right in the middle, cavorting in the vineyards and villages with your rancher pal, Provo Starke. Tip must fall back on what he knows best -- environmental reporting -- sifting through old truths with new tools in this modern-day narrative of greed, faith and fame. Larry Bud Meyer uses sly humor to take deadly aim at fracking in a debut novel filled with finely honed characters and a distinct sense of place.