Based on true crime, Jar of Pennies follows the story of how a murderer was brought to justice in small town east Texas. A book as much about east Texas culture deep in the pine forests of the state as it is about a chain of murders and the gathering of evidence, this riveting narrative has elements of both humor and noir as it rockets to its conclusion.

East Texas is a land without horizons, every view obstructed by a great pine curtain that conceals both great beauty and great danger in its shadows, and the insular human cultures scattered through its fifty thousand square miles struggle to create what passes for civilization. Like the forests, human culture also has its dark recesses where lethality lies hidden, waiting for the moment or the opportunity. Madness, ignorance, and meanness forever dash against friendship, thoughtfulness, and camaraderie. And meanwhile, some people are still fighting the Civil War or seeking to become feudal lords. All of these struggles figure into the tapestry of the story, which is so much more than a tale of murder.

Based on the actual murder of a young wife and her three-year old toddler, Jar of Pennies was the result of John Yearwood's decades of study of the east Texas culture and character.