The Theoretics of Love — Joe Taylor

In The Theoretics of Love, Joe Taylor turns his fierce wit and storytelling talents to love, death, and murder in the Bluegrass state. Fresh out of school, anthropologist Dr. Clarissa Circle finds herself thrust into a mysterious forensics investigation after exposing what was thought to be a Native American burial ground as a mass grave of not-so-recently murdered bodies. Is a cult behind the killings? Were these ritual murders? Hired as a consultant to the local police department, Circle spends half of her time dusting bones and the other half knocking boots with homicide detective Willy Cox and an aging hippie who goes by the name of Methuselah. A double suicide is discovered. And the plot thickens from there as other disturbing events unfold and people of questionable character surface and collide in this kaleidoscopic murder mystery/love story that is also madcap fun.

Part Hunter S. Thompson, part Woody Allen, Joe Taylor's tilted realism and quirky humor combine in this fast-paced novel that gleefully exposes our human foibles and heart. In The Theoretics of Love, the motives behind the ritual murders rocking Kentucky are obscure. Intimacy and love, as it turns out, prove to be every bit as theoretical. Joe Taylor gives love and passion a workout in the Bluegrass state in this new novel, which may be his best. Charles McNair, award-winning author of Pickett's Charge and other novels, asks "Why isn't Joe Taylor famous? I laughed out loud three times in the first chapter of The Theoretics of Love. A few chapters later, I felt my heart would break. There's nothing theoretical about Taylor's talent. You'll love this love story."