Then Came the Evening by Brian Hart

Then Came the Evening is a family drama that takes several dysfunctional characters and attempts to reunite them into a family unit. Bandy is a Vietnam vet newly released from prison with a violent past that includes shooting a police man. Ionna is the wife that left him and ran away with another man while unknowingly pregnant with his son. She's now a drug addict who turns tricks. Tracy is the son Bandy never knew he had who goes to visit him in prison to ask if he can stay in Bandy's old, falling down house.

The story takes place in rural Idaho in the rugged American West. This is a violent, rather bleak look at people you're probably glad you don't know. It's surpisingly well writen and the author does a superb job weaving this family's struggles into a story. The author doesn't write with a lot of flowery prose. He has a very bare writing style that somehow fits this story quite well.

If you're looking for a story with a happy ending, this isn't going to be it. It's a great read and the author's style kept the pages turning easily for me but I had a really hard time liking any of the characters in the story. I kept hoping they would somehow redeem themselves and it would all have a happy ending and that just didn't happen.