1968. Gorman takes sleuthing Iowa attorney Sam McCain from the Democratic National Convention to a more personal rendezvous with history. Just because everybody in Black River Falls knows each other doesn't mean that they all like each other. Judge Esme Whitney and Police Chief Cliffie Sykes look down their noses at the scruffy young people in Richard Donovan's commune. Vanessa Mainwaring must have had her reasons for dumping her troubled ex-boyfriend Neil Cameron. And clearly someone took against Vanessa—someone who stabbed her to death in the commune's horse barn. When Sam's attempt to bring Neil in for questioning is thwarted when Neil's sister, Sarah Powers, knocks him out long enough for Neil to make his escape, Sarah naturally gets arrested herself, and Sam naturally agrees to represent her. Though Vanessa's wealthy father, liberal industrialist Paul Mainwaring, hires Sam to investigate, he turns on him once Neil is found shot to death and Sam refuses to accept his apparent suicide as the end of the road. Even the Mainwaring home, it turns out, houses plenty of conflict. Paul and Eve, his carefully groomed second wife, may be comfortable with their open marriage, but it had been driving Vanessa and her sister Nicole crazy. Nor does Sam's dogged persistence with a case everyone else regards as closed win him any new friends. As usual in this warmly observed series, the mystery is untidy. Read this installment, like all the others (Ticket to Ride, 2009, etc.), for the pop-historical detail and the loving evocation of small-town America.
A hippie commune has invaded Black River Falls. While the majority of the townspeople believe that the bohemians have the right to stay-despite how bizarre some of their ways can seem. As always, there is a minority that constantly accuses them of everything from criminal activities to satanism. As usual, lawyer and private investigator Sam McCain finds himself in the middle of the controversy, especially when the teenage daughter of Paul Mainwaring, one of the town's wealthiest men, is found murdered in the commune's barn. A deeply troubled young man, and Vietnam vet named Neil Cameron, is immediately charged with the crime, but Sam has serious doubts.
In this lively and poignant new novel, Ed Gorman offers listeners his richest portrait yet about Black River Falls and its people.
A hippie commune has invaded Black River Falls. While the majority of the townspeople believe that the bohemians have the right to stay-despite how bizarre some of their ways can seem. As always, there is a minority that constantly accuses them of everything from criminal activities to satanism. As usual, lawyer and private investigator Sam McCain finds himself in the middle of the controversy, especially when the teenage daughter of Paul Mainwaring, one of the town's wealthiest men, is found murdered in the commune's barn. A deeply troubled young man, and Vietnam vet named Neil Cameron, is immediately charged with the crime, but Sam has serious doubts.
In this lively and poignant new novel, Ed Gorman offers listeners his richest portrait yet about Black River Falls and its people.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169747690 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 01/01/2012 |
| Series: | The Sam McCain Mysteries , #9 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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