Hidden Scars by de Castrique and Pulse by Francis - Mysteries

HIDDEN SCARS by Mark de Castrique is another mystery in the Sam Blackman series. Set in or near Asheville, North Carolina, these contemporary puzzling stories involve Blackman, an amputee and former soldier, and his detective agency (and personal life) partner, Nakayla Robertson. Generally, the author chooses to focus on some aspect of local lore or history and HIDDEN SCARS is no exception as Sam and Nakayla try to solve a potential murder from roughly 70 years ago involving students at the now defunct Black Mountain College. I was enthralled to learn about this real school and the many famous people (e.g., Buckminster Fuller, Josef and Anni Albers, Willem de Kooning, Merce Cunningham) who studied and worked there. As always, de Castrique makes his readers think about ethics and morals, including some unexpected twists. I definitely recommend this series and am already looking forward to Sam and Nakayla's next adventure! 

PULSE by Felix Francis continues Dick Francis’ tradition of writing mysteries set primarily in the British racing world. They are always fun escapism, full of surprises. My favorites are the stories around Kit Fielding and Sid Halley, both of whom struggled with personal issues as well as trying to solve murders.  Here, the younger Francis introduces a female protagonist, Chris Rankin. As senior physician in the A & E Department at Cheltenham General Hospital, she begins investigating a death related to the famous race course while also coping with her own panic attacks and anxiety.  She keeps asking questions and that leads to some dangerous threats.  Booklist gives PULSE and its cliff-hanger chapters a starred review.

The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo by Ian Stansel

THE LAST COWBOYS OF SAN GERONIMO by Ian Stansel in some ways is a western and in some ways is a murder mystery, but mostly it is about the relationship between two brothers, Frank and Silas Van Loy.  They, along with Frank’s wife, Lena, are horse people so there are plenty of tales of training horses and riding, including competitions and a hunt. Perhaps different from your typical reading choices, but well worth checking out. 

When the story opens, Frank has been killed and Lena decides to track his murderer, brother Silas, who has fled on horseback. As they travel, Lena and Silas separately reflect on their lives and thus recount the story of events leading to such animosity between the brothers. With a contemporary setting in northern California's Marin County near Highway 101, the natural vistas described are beautiful and all of that contrasts even more with the ugly competitive rivalry, violence and ill feelings between the brothers. Since it is only 208 pages, I plan to suggest THE LAST COWBOYS OF SAN GERONIMO as a title for multiple levels of our Senior English seminar on Good and Evil.  Ian Stansel’s short story collection (Everyone’s Irish) was a finalist for the PEN/Bingham Prize and this debut novel received a starred review from Library Journal.

Fallen Land by Taylor Brown

There is something about the cover for Fallen Land by Taylor Brown that I truly love.  It reflects the story so well: the mix of dark and light, the hidden depths and the elegant, old-time (Civil War Georgia is the setting) wallpaper background with the silhouette of a young man, pregnant woman and Horse at the forefront.  That image alone evokes so much of the context for the harrowing adventures that Taylor Brown recounts in this debut novel.  

He tells the story of Callum, an orphaned Irish immigrant, and Ava, a young woman left alone after her father’s death in the American Civil War.  They are on the run from Clayburn, a truly despicable and vicious bounty hunter.  The book is packed with gunfights, killings and desperate acts to stay alive. Brown weaves in historical events like the burning of Atlanta and uses many smaller acts of violence to aptly illustrate the harshness of the times. As Callum and Ava begin their journey atop Reiver, a horse with remarkably steadfast character, I was intrigued and thought this might be a historical fiction work that would appeal to both our male and female students.  Sadly, the story slows in the middle and I found myself hoping that they would either be caught or finally escape – even the near misses were starting to seem a bit redundant.  Taylor Brown is an amazing writer who allows his reader to reflect (“You ever think how many songs will go unwritten because of this war, unsung? Paintings unpainted, discoveries unmade? You ever think of that?”). Overall, Brown’s descriptions are beautifully crafted and certainly transported me to a time and place when even young boys had to be self-reliant, depend on their knowledge of nature, and guard against the evil that was rampant.

If you like westerns (although this is obviously set in the South) or works of historical fiction with some violence, do read Fallen Land by Taylor Brown – your patience will be rewarded. Starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus where is was compared to Frazier’s Cold Mountain or McCarthy’s Border Trilogy.