Edge of dark water - Joe R. Lansdale

May Lynn dreamed of being a movie star. But her future was short, and it wasn't on the silver screen. It was down in the dark depths of the Sabine River with a sewing machine wired to her feet.

In Depression-era Texas, a better life is hard to come by. May Lynn's friends Sue Ellen, Terry and Jinx know they need to leave, and now they have a reason - they're going to take May's ashes all the way to Hollywood.

But silent obstacles stand in their way: a family's worth of betrayal, a fortune's worth of stolen gold, and a legendary killer who'll stop at nothing...

Joe R. Lansdale is one of the great American crime writers and Edge of Dark Water shows him at his finest. If you haven't read him yet, you're missing out.