Handicap

Thom hates standing just four-foot-seven (and a half ). After watching his mother bleed to death from a knife stuck through her heart, he runs away and lands in backwards backwoods Florida. There, he becomes an expert golfer. This is no small feat, and one he credits to his short game. Thom only golfs alone. It's where he escapes the scorn and ignorance of others. The course is Thom's World. Until, that is, he discovers a woman's bloody corpse on number two-stabbed through the heart. Then Thom's World becomes a black tunnel of terror and guilt. He can't even raise a club without collapsing in panic. Thom must solve the murder not only to escape suspicion, but especially to reclaim his glorious solitude. This, however, finally forces him to open up to others: like Dyleane, who sees Thom for what he is on the inside; Jade, the ample proprietor of a cafe and whorehouse; Father C, a chain-smoking priest with a pitiful toupee; and others still, who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.