Blue Hole by G.D. Gearino

Blue Hole is a mystery and a coming-of-age novel and a Southern Gothic, all at the same time. Blue Hole tells the story of Charley Selkirk, a high school senior who gets kicked out of school during the last week of his senior year. Charley takes a job with a photographer (Tallasee Tynan) who lives in his town, Barrington, GA. Tallasee is local, in that she lives in Barrington and grew up there, but she is also an outsider, in that she spent several years modeling and working as a photographer outside her small Georgia town.

While working with Tallasee, Charley gets involved in investigating the disappearance of another young man. Tallasee and Charley look for the missing boy in a local hippie commune, and soon they find themselves in danger and that the missing boy is a likely murder victim.

Wrapped around the story of Charley and Tallasee's investigation is the story of Charley's mother, his brother who died accidentally in childhood, the local sheriff, and a scary drifter.
The mysteries are all solved when the threads come together at the end of the book.

Blue Hole is a quick and compelling read. The characters, if not altogether believable, are enjoyable.