The Kansas Murder Trilogy offers three stand-alone novels that spring from the nation's heartland: King Harvest (1975); Banks of the River (1960); and Skin for Skin (1934). While each story carries the general flavor of its time, the characters and circumstances are distinct, and all depict the fate of common people faced with the grim fact of murder.
KING HARVEST, Book 1 (Range County, KS, summer/fall 1975): A group of young men known as "The Boys" make their stab for freedom harvesting marijuana on the Kansas plains. But the brutal murder of a young couple on the border of two counties threatens to sweep "The Boys" into a bigger world of crime. *Selected for Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Books of 2022!
BANKS OF THE RIVER, Book 2 (Cibola City, KS, summer 1960): "Lion" Jack, a small-town stone mason and rowdy womanizer, stands accused of murdering the man who has impregnated his 15-year-old daughter. Yet he claims he didn't do it. The whole town witnesses the subsequent trial and surprising conclusion. *Kirkus starred review!
SKIN FOR SKIN, Book 3 (Elim, KS, autumn 1934): In the grip of hard times a robbery at a rural poker game leads to a murder disguised as an accident, and is so judged by a coroner's inquiry. At the victim's grave his older brother vows vengeance and acts thereon to the very end.
"In Litton's trilogy-concluding thriller, an evil presence holds a small Kansas town in its grip..." ? Kirkus Reviews
