Overview

"""Joe Edd Morris tells a poignant tale of a young man's search for identity... This beautifully-upbeat and enduring novel is recommended for all ages."" -The Library Journal In Land Where My Fathers Died, the first book of the Shelby Amateur Sleuth Series, twenty-four-year-old Jo Shelby Ferguson, just out of prison for a crime he didn't commit, embarks on an adventurous pilgrimage to Mexico in a successful search for the roots of his confederado kin, the only family he has remaining. Inherit the Land is the story of Jo Shelby Ferguson's return from Mexico to the Mississippi Delta and of his reunion with his childhood sweetheart, Athen, the daughter of the landowner Jo Shelby believes illegally possesses land that belongs to his family. Athen learns of his designs, which includes returning part of the land to the Negroes farming it. Sparks fly. She leaves him. Her two nefarious brothers abduct him and leave him in the middle of the night-bound, gagged and hooded in a cotton field. Miraculously, Jo Shelby frees himself. With the aid of an aged attorney, and after considerable legal mining of ancient county land documents, the attorney discovers a cloud on the land title dating back to 1885 when the property was lost in a crap game ... while the old colonel Calvin T. Ferguson, owner of the land, was still alive in Mexico. A dramatic, emotional court battle ensues. The plantation blacks, also aware of Jo Shelby's ultimate plans, fill the courtroom. Athen strides in with her family. With the aid of his aging sidekick, Jo Shelby serves as his own attorney. A climactic pivotal moment occurs when he faces Athen on the witness stand and discovers she is on his side. Months later, the judge rules that a ""material fact was possibly concealed when the deed changed hands."" There was a cloud on the title. Jo Shelby has sixty days to find the original will. In the final scene, he is on a bus returning to Mexico to find the will. Unexpectedly, when the bus stops at Indianoloa, Athen, boards the bus: ""I thought it might prove interesting, us headed in the same direction for once. Besides, I couldn't let you go traipsing off to Mexico where some señorita might grab you."" She is unaware of Jo Shelby's Mexican girlfriend. Look for book three, The Will, and more adventure."

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9781685133030

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Reviews

"""Joe Edd Morris tells a poignant tale of a young man's search for identity... This beautifully-upbeat and enduring novel is recommended for all ages."" -The Library Journal ""A truly memorable literary journey... combining a strong plot with first-rate characters. Morris' obvious talent shines through from start to finish."" -Publisher's Weekly ""Morris writes with a clear lyricism... He is aware of language and what it can bring to a story and equally cognizant of what it can subtract from a story."" -Raleigh News Observer"

Author Information

Joe Edd Morris is the author of novels that include Land Where My Fathers Died, The Prison, Torched: Summer of '64, The Lost Page and The Lost Gospel. Land Where My Fathers Died and The Prison, were awarded Best Fiction of 2002 and 2020 respectively by the Mississippi Library Association. Joe Edd's non-fiction include Ten Things I Wish Jesus Hadn't Said. His short fiction has appeared in multiple literary journals with a nomination for the Pushcart Prize. Joe Edd is a psychologist and retired United Methodist minister. He and his wife, Sandi, live in Tupelo, MS where he has a psychology practice and enjoys, besides writing, traveling to places where the road ends, gardening and playing the piano.

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