{"product_id":"the-illusion-of-simple-9781609388317","title":"The Illusion of Simple","description":"\u003cb\u003eByron Caldwell Smith Book Award, Fiction\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In a dry Kansas riverbed, a troop of young girls finds a human hand. This discovery leads Billy Spire, the tough and broken sheriff of Ewing County, to investigate and confront the depths of his community and of himself: the racism, the dying economy, the lies and truths of friendship, grievances of the past and present, and even his own injured marriage. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But like any town where people still breathe, there is also love and hope and the possibility of redemption. To flyover folks, Ewing County appears nothing more than a handful of empty streets amid crop circles and the meandering, depleted Arkansas River. But the truth of this place--the interwoven lives and stories--is anything but simple. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCharles Forrest Jones \u003c\/b\u003eis former director of the Kansas University Public Management Center. Jones lives in Lawrence, Kansas and Creede, Colorado. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Iowa Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51474820301074,"sku":"9781609388317","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_422933db-3c3c-4145-adf1-c866fce0d69a.jpg?v=1752580472","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-illusion-of-simple-9781609388317","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}