The Painter

The Painter by Peter Heller is a book of pain, loss and art.

Jim Stegner is an artist who lives in the desert in rural Colorado. Though he paints what he wants, sometimes without conscious thought, he is a popular painter in the Santa Fe scene and his agent loves him. His art is how he processes emotions and the pain in which he lives.

Jim's other passion is fishing. He is an avid fly-fisher on all of the rivers of the Southwest. 

One day while leaving the river, he stops a man from beating his horse. Now Jim has the horse and the man and his friends are on a mission to make Jim's life miserable. 

The Painter is the story of a man who is trying to live a quite life in the middle of nowhere, a man whom violence seems to follow. This is a compelling and haunting tale that will stick with you far after you return it to the shelf. Heller has a way with words that will make you a loyal fan after the first chapter in any of his novels.

Heller, Peter. (2014). The Painter. New York: Knopf.

Ask Again, Yes

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane begins with two New York Police officers new to the beat in 1973 and follows their families for the next few decades.

Francis Gleeson, born ins Galway, Ireland and his partner Brian Stanhope, who is engaged to a young woman from Dublin are assigned to the Bronx. After working for a while, they each get the idea to move to a suburb where their future families can grow up in a quiet neighborhood. This will also let them get away from work more fully that if they lived close to their work neighborhood.

Francis and Lena Gleeson move to a house in a town where, at first Lena feels isolated. She is so far from her family in Brooklyn. The only people she speaks to in the day are the older couple next door. Then the wife dies, and the man moves away.

After a while someone buys the house. Brian and Anne Stanhope move in next door. Lena is thrilled for someone to speak to – someone who is about to have a child, while Lena is about to have her third. But Anne is standoffish and does not want to become friends. Even though their husbands used to be partners, there is little interaction between the two houses.

Then Anne’s son Peter and Lena’s daughter Kate become best friends. This brings the families into closer proximity, if not better relationships. This proximity leads to a startling event that changes the lives of everyone in the two families.

Keane has beautifully written a story of two intertwined families. This is not your typical story path. This is a great read. Such a wonderful book that looks a life and what it means. Read this today.

Keane, Mary Beth. (2019). Ask Again, Yes. NY: Scribner.

Paradise Valley (Cassie Dewell #3)

Paradise Valley by C.J. Box is the third book in his series featuring Cassie Dewell, a police investigator working (currently) in Bakken County, North Dakota. In this case, two of Cassie’s previous cases will collide, endangering a boy she cares about and involving a man she has been hunting for years.

Dewell, with the aid of an FBI task force and a district attorney from the East Coast, has set a trap for a serial killer who uses the highways as his hiding place. The Lizard King has been at large for years. He has been questioned twice but has not been arrested for the suspected murder of dozens of women across the country. He is a long-haul trucker working on his own and traceable by no one.

Over the years, Dewell has posted jobs on a board for truckers looking to fill empty space as they drive. The only way the independent drivers make money is by hauling a full load. Now, finally, the man for whom she has been searching has agreed to pick up a load. Better yet, they have surveillance of him picking up a woman as a truck stop – a woman who did not leave the truck before the truck drove away. If they time it right, they can catch him and save the woman.

On the same day as the setup, Kyle Westergaard, age 15, disappears along with his best friend. Did they run away like a note says or did something else happen.

Dewell is a character who follows her instincts, even when logic dictates otherwise. Read this series for an enjoyable mystery / suspense series.

Box, C.J. (2017). Paradise Valley. NY: Minotaur.

Badlands (Cassie Dewell #2)

Badlands by C.J. Box is the second book in her Cassie Dewell series. Cassie is a police investigator in Helena, Montana. Though she just applied for a job in the booming oil community of Grimstad, North Dakota. The town of Grimstad is expanding due to oil fracking. The Sherriff’s department has added a couple dozen deputies. Dewell is interested in their head investigator, the highest detective position.

Kyle Westergaard, age 12, has a newspaper route. His mom says she will drive him, but she is too tired in the mornings from her own job. Kyle uses his bike. He rides miles every morning even in the now freezing weather. One morning, while taking a short cut through a new housing development, Kyle watches a car chase that ends with a crash. When a police car’s lights can be seen in the distance, the two men in the second car stop searching the wreck and flee. Kyle picks up a bundle he saw fly away from the car.

Dewell’s first case in Grimstad will come down to a witness no one thinks to speak to because no one knows he was there.

Box writes crime suspense that is fun to read. Cassie Dewell is a bit of a mess but trying her best. She learned from someone who cause almost as many problems as he solved.

Box, C. J. (2015). Badlands. NY: Minotaur.

The Highway (Cody Hody #1 / Cassie Dewell #1)

The Highway by C.J. Box is a novel of suspense that will haunt you. It is both the second book in the Cody Hoyt series and the first in the Cassie Dewell series – two police detectives in Helena, Montana. An experienced investigator who has been known to break the rules and a new investigator just starting out.

Teens Danielle and Gracie Sullivan are driving to their father’s house for Thanksgiving. But when Gracie (the younger and more responsible sister) falls asleep, Danielle turns north toward Helena to see Justin Hoyt. They met the previous summer when they were all on an adventure in Yellowstone that was a bit too interesting. Justin’s dad, Cody, ultimately saved the girls from a serial killer. Danielle and Justin have been dating, long-distance, since then. Danielle knows Justin wants to break up but is sure in person she can convince him not to.

 When the young women stop texting Justin, he gets worried and calls his dad to look for them. The main highway was blocked after an accident and he told them to go through the corner of Yellowstone. He knows there is no cell service for part of it, but too much time has passed. Hoyt is in no condition to help out, but will do anything for his son, or for Gracie. With the help of his new partner, Cassie Dewell, he starts making phone calls.

In the course of her research, Dewell finds a patter of young women disappearing in the area. The FBI has put together a task for on a possible long-haul trucker / serial killer who operates in the area.

Box has written a story that will keep readers on edge until the last page. If you like suspense with a bit of creepy this is the book for you.

Box, C.J. (2013). The Highway. NY: Minotaur Books.