The last verse A novel

Twyla's life plays out like the lyrics of a clichéd country and western song, one filled with jealousy and betrayal, unrequited love and, ultimately, murder. It's not the kind of soulful ballad Twyla writes nor that her deceased father played with his band. Twyla ran away from an emotionally abusive mother in Texas to attend Elvis' funeral at Graceland, then hopped a bus to Nashville, hoping to make it in the music business. She falls in love with Chet, a wannabe musician, who cheats on her with another woman. Her confrontation over Chet's dishonesty turns violent, and Twyla kills Chet in self-defense. Turns out Chet's lover did more than steal Twyla's man, she also stole her best song and turned it into the country's number one hit. As the investigation into Chet's murder ramps up, thanks to the determined efforts of a disgraced ex-cop, Twyla struggles to atone for the lifetime of bad choices that have led her to this moment. Frost (Shadows of Pecan Hollow, 2022) delivers a tearjerker fraught with complicated emotions.

Frost's intriguing second novel (after Shadows of Pecan Hollow) follows a talented 19-year-old aspiring country singer and her travails in 1977 Nashville. Twyla Higgins, tired of her sheltered life in Texas, defies her domineering mother, Faith, and makes her way to Graceland to attend Elvis's funeral. From there, she hitches a ride to Nashville, where she falls for rich pretty boy Chet Wilton, a middling guitarist who recognizes her songwriting talent. After sleeping with him, Twyla's crushed when she learns Chet is engaged to magnetic singer Lorelei Ray. Following a violent argument on a boat, Twyla stabs Chet in self-defense and tries in vain to save him from drowning. Not long after, she hears Lorelei on the radio, singing a song Twyla had written about her guilt over Chet's death. Lorelei later blackmails Twyla into writing the rest of her debut album in exchange for keeping quiet about Twyla's involvement in Chet's death. Frost turns many memorable phrases ("Like a circus, she would erect herself each morning and dismantle at night") and each of the imperfect yet sympathetic characters are well-drawn, including workaholic former cop T. Lynn Struthers, who's hired by the Wiltons to find Chet's killer, and ambitious Lorelei, whom Twyla grows fond of in spite of the blackmail and jealousy. Classic country fans will love this. Agent: Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein, McIntosh & Otis. (Mar.)