"A Fever Devilin mystery"--Jacket.

Folklorist and academic Fever Devilin, a native of the Georgia Appalachians, is drawn into a strange mystery that has its roots deep in the hills of Blue Mountain. After a spat during a church supper, Able Carter and his fiancee, Truevine Deveroe, are missing. A bit later, a body is found in the ravine behind Fever's cabin and identified as the local mortician, Harding Pinehurst. Folks suspect Able Carter of the deed. A few -- like Truevine's drunken, gun-toting brothers -- are out for blood.