Divining rod

the long version

Divining Rod opens with a shattering act of violence. Then the story abruptly shifts back in time to the day Simon Bell, a young attorney, returns to his childhood home in Sherwood, Alabama. Simon is haunted by the deaths of his parents, lulled by the soft murmurs of women's voices that float over to him from the nearby golf course. It is on such an afternoon - a hot, unmoving summer day - that he begins an affair with Delia Holladay. Delia is young, beautiful. And married. Their illicit liaison will bring about a final reckoning no one could have anticipated - not Delia or Simon or Delia's husband, Sam, a teacher many years her senior who thought he knew all the history of the world...until he met Delia. Evoking a medley of distinct voices, Divining Rod tells a richly layered tale of adultery, love, and murder, as it follows the arc of a fateful passion to its inevitable and heartbreaking conclusion. By the time the narrative comes full circle, it is we who are left with feelings of regret at the injustice of lives destroyed - and a tragedy that will reverberate for years to come.