For Dickie and his family.

The small town of Mead Creek was notable for only two things: a skirmish during the Civil War and the unsolved triple murder of a family. After the school term finishes, and in the heat of the Texas summer, three young teenage friends, Larry, Kevin and Slads, and brother and sister, Butt and Wendy, set off on their bicycles along the Devil's Backbone track, past the creepy old derelict mansion some kids said was haunted, and into the forest to build a secret fort, or clubhouse, where they could have out without any adults to bother them. Where they could have adventures, swim, fish and have fun.

This delightful thriller mystery is not fast paced, no big shoot outs, no fast car chases. It moves at a slower speed, like the time: this is 1979, with T.V. but no computers, only very basic electronic arcade games like Space Invaders, no mobile phones to keep in touch and only maps to find directions. Need to find something out? Go to the library. And for the five young people, the days were long and languid, supervision minimal. There are numerous cultural iconic mentions of the time in the story, but it is the conjuring up of the exuberance and curiosity of youth which really suffused the book. The story's mystery might be somewhat predictable to the reader, but that doesn't matter: it is the youngsters following of the trail itself which is thrilling, an innocence and a capacity to move forward. Although not individually fully formed three dimensional characters, the group works well as a whole, dialogue between them, with small insults and interuptions, felt genuine, real.

Like the storyline, the narration by Eddie Frierson is slow and languid, with clear definition, good intonation and each character is separately and appropriately voiced. It all adds to enhance the leisurely atmosphere of the time. Only forty years ago but so much has changed. And an occasional burst of background sound track is added to give greater depth. One complaint, however: the silent gaps between chapters was often overlong, giving rise to a slight anxiety that something had gone wrong with the playback.

My thanks to the rights holder of Summer of '79, who, at my request, freely gifted me a complimentary copy, via Audiobook Boom. It was a pleasure to hear, to mentally step back into more gently moving times and relax into the magical age between childhood and adu!t - without having to personally suffer the angst which goes with it. Recommended for all ages and as a family read-together.

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