The Tomato Patch

Samuel Preston was murdered and buried in his garden behind Bide a Wee, the home he built by hand for his bride. For fifty years the murder hung oppressive, disrupting life in the small Southern town. An outsider, a retired college professor, looking for some undefined sense of contentment, unintentionally exposes long hidden secrets and guilt fostered by the mistreatment of Preston's widow. In a chance encounter with the dead man's grandson, he becomes privy to a disturbing account of the tragedy. Deceit, lame and revenge result in the deaths of two of the victim's descendents, and the burning of the old house, the grim reminder of the original murder. The Tomato Patch is a tale of remarkable characters: angry eccentric, Eldon Preston, hot-tempered waitress, Bobbie Sue, idealistic professor, Paul Mason, and dark-eyed beauty, Rosemary. Knight skillfully interweaves the events surrounding the murder, and its eventual consequences after half a century of shame and remorse. The Tomato Patch is a page turner that holds the reader spellbound from the dark December night of the old man's death to the final chilling conclusion.