'Master' takes on evil in Old South

MASTER OF THE DELTA. By Thomas H. Cook. Harcourt. 367 pages. $24.

There was a time, long ago, when Thomas H. Cook wrote crime novels. They were better than average, thoughtful tales with twists and turns and uneasy scenes — but at heart, crime novels.

At some point, his books became what industry types might call psychological thrillers, more subtle, more ambiguous. For more than a decade now, it's been hard to classify him.

But the fact is, Cook writes about evil — there is no other word for it — in all its forms. And it is possible that no one does it better.

His latest novel, "Master of the Delta," is a study of class in the Old South, and the inherent evils therein. Jack Branch is the last generation of a prominent small-town Southern family, a well-to-do man teaching at the local public high school. He takes a great deal of pride in this act of noblesse oblige, particularly after he begins to work with a poor, shy boy named Eddie whose father was the locally famous Coed Killer.

Told in a series of flashbacks, Cook hints at some horrible tragedy to come. The question that keeps the pages turning is simple: Is Eddie changing, or is it Branch?

Cook takes on big themes, but, more importantly, he tells a good story, one that will leave you feeling uneasy but still wanting more. That isn't a category; that's good writing.