The Shadow of E. Z.’s Fear

From the young adult historical fiction series Fighting Devil’s Backbone Local author and lawyer Tony Turnbow will release the first book in a new young adult historical fiction series Fighting Devil’s Backbone on April 24th. Turnbow uses fictional characters, drawn from actual accounts, to recreate the world of the historic Natchez Trace and to tell some of its stories. The series opener, The Shadow of E. Z.’s Fear, is set in 1809. It follows the adventures of an eastern city boy who travels with his widowed mother and his brother to the Natchez Trace to find their new home in the Mississippi Territory. He learns too late that the road has earned the name “The Devil’s Backbone” from dangers travelers encounter. As the family nears Nashville, boatmen warn that the Natchez Trace is filled with bandits, angry Indian warriors, and even supernatural creatures. Survival depends upon the boy learning which dangers are real and which are imagined. One of the more memorable stops on the famil