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“Don’t Forget Me, Little Bessie” by James Lee Burke, c.2025, Atlantic Monthly Press, $28, 358 pages.

“Don’t Forget Me, Little Bessie” author James Lee Burke

Frank Veronsky

Terri Schlichenmeyer The Bookworm Sez

S omeone’s watching out for you.

Yes, you’re a grown-up but it’s nice to know, isn’t it? Someone’s got your back. You have a Guardian Angel, a protector, somebody who’ll come running if you need them. Of course, though, there’s just one little thing: As in the new novel, “Don’t Forget Me, Little Bessie” by James Lee Burke, sometimes, you have only yourself to rely on.

The first time Bessie Holland saw the spirit, she was following a plow in a field not far from her Papa’s house. Papa was inside, probably drunk, and the spirit was leaning beside a tree, cleaning his fi

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