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Title: The Wheat Field by Steve Thayer ISBN: 0-451-41075-0 Publisher: Onyx Books Pub. Date: 04 March, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.78 (18 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: sex, murder and politics along the Dells
Comment: I really like reading Steve Thayer's books. I remember after reading SAINT MUDD that I was driving along the St. Paul riverbanks and thinking about the caves used by gangsters.
This time he takes to the Wisconsin Dells and 1960 before the great tourist descent. Once again he writes about places and weaves legend into the story.
The story is written in the first person from the perspective of the investigating deputy. He arrives at the scene of the wheat field murders of Maggie and Michael Butler, who have been blown away by a shotgun in a perfectly formed crop circle.
So is it a murder/suicide, double homicide, something more, something less? Oh and the sordid tale of illicit sex and small town gossip runs rampant through out the story. There are no saints in this novel of deceit and treachery.
We follow the narrative down a road of personal discovery and shocking revelation, and just when you think you've got everything mapped Thayer twists down another avenue of inquiry you hadn't even considered. To give too many details would spoil an outstanding book.
So if I like it so much, why not 5 stars you ask? I just wish the sex would have been less graphic. I can get the idea without all the details.
Rating: 4
Summary: Good read, lots of porn....
Comment: THE WHEAT FIELD by Steve Thayer is not the type of mystery I ordinarily read. I usually prefer women writers and/or mysteries set in England or American crime stories with hard-boiled female heros like Kay Scarpetta or Stephanie Plum. I was drawn to Thayer's book because the setting is Wisconsin--a state I have known and loved all my life. I think Thayer handled his descriptions of various places in Wisconsin pretty well.
Thayer's story is a compelling tale I read in a half day. This is the kind of book you take on a long plane flight or to the beach. Thayer is an excellent writer whose style is reminiscient of Hemingway's (not a particular favorite of mine but he wrote well). More than one aspect of THE WHEAT FIELD reminded me of THE SUN ALSO RISES.
Thayer's characterization of Pliny Pennington is believable. Pliny seems to be a cross between Forrest Gump and Micky Spillane and although there was a time when I would not have belived such a fellow could exist I now know there are innocents who are worldly-wise. Besides, Pliny the protagonist is relating the events in this story years later. Some of the dumb things he did as a younger man he would not have done in later life after he "wized" up.
Pliny is the Deputy Sherif of Kickapoo County, and although this book has been characterized as a "police procedural" it is not. There are NO forensics. Even though Pliny is a law enforcement officer, I would characterize him as more akin to the 1950s detective--you know the guy who was always in some kind of trouble because he trusted untrustworthy adversaries and was not above breaking the law himself. The other characters in this novel are shallowly drawn and generally as unlikable as the characters in a Mickey Spillane novel.
Thayer includes a good deal of pornography. He may have thought it was necessary for the plot, but his graphic descriptions seem a bit gratuitous at times. He introduces a character who knows a bit about voyeurism (a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin), a sort of "profiler" Pliny says. His unraveling of the plot stretches credibility at times. I figured out who the murderer was in the early part of the book. I think I mostly stuck with the book because it is a good read and I had to see what became of Pliny. This book will not appeal to Republicans.
Rating: 5
Summary: A stellar story
Comment: If I were sucessful writing I would hope to be half a good as Mr. Thayer. The twists, turns, and level ground of his story keeps your mind speeding all the time. He ties in love, hate,politics, small town USA and about everything else you can think of. I will look forward to reading more of his work and could assure all if it is even close to this book in readability it would be a great success.
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Title: Wolf Pass: A Novel by Steve Thayer ISBN: 0399149910 Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group Pub. Date: 10 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Weatherman ISBN: 0451184386 Publisher: Signet Book Pub. Date: 01 March, 1996 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Silent Snow by Steve Thayer ISBN: 0451186648 Publisher: Signet Book Pub. Date: 12 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Saint Mudd: A Novel of Gangsters and Saints by Steve Thayer ISBN: 0451176820 Publisher: Signet Book Pub. Date: 01 February, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Moon over Lake Elmo: A Novel by Steve Thayer ISBN: 0451203739 Publisher: Nal Trade Pub. Date: 10 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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