Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Bad Country by C. B. McKenzie

Back in March 2015 I reviewed Bad Country by C. B. McKenzie. I thought it was a very good read. Today on this final Monday of June, Aubrey  Hamilton is here with her review of the book. Make sure you check out her other reviews on these pages.

Bad Country by C. B. McKenzie (Minotaur, 2014) is the story of a former rodeo cowboy who fell into a second career of private investigator in the stark Arizona desert around Tucson. Someone is killing the Indians who live in the area and Rodeo Grace Garnet returns from a brief vacation to find a body of one of them near the entrance of his remote home.  He’s offered a day’s work to investigate the death of another one and, since he’s always in desperate need of money, takes it even though the person retaining him is strangely uninterested in the outcome of his research. The body count rises considerably before he can identify and stop the killer.

I found this book intriguing in its original characters and matter-of-fact presentation of gritty details. No drama here, just the facts. His lack of money for instance:  he visits the local store which serves as a pawn shop and notes to himself that several of his possessions are on display, implying he’s had to pawn them for cash. I especially liked Rodeo’s kindness. He keeps water and food in a cave that he knows is used by undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S. border from the south, saying he can’t stand the thought of people dying in his back yard. His devotion to the old dog he won in a poker game is wonderful, spending money he doesn’t have on medicine and vitamins for him.

However, the author’s aversion to quotation marks made it a challenging read, as I could not always tell when dialog stopped and narrative began. The reason for omitting standard punctuation is not clear. The story would have been just as compelling with it.

I love books set in the Southwest United States. Steven Havill’s Posada County books are a particular favorite. Why I, a child of the lush green Ohio Valley and a long-established transplant to rolling Virginia hills, should be so enthralled by printed descriptions of sand and unbearable heat is a mystery. I am looking forward to more from this author.

This book won the Tony Hillerman Prize and the Spur Award for Best Western Contemporary Novel. It was shortlisted for a New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, for the Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel, and for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel.  Kirkus starred review.

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1St Edition edition (November 4, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1250053544 
• ISBN-13: 978-1250053541

Aubrey Hamilton © 2017

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal IT projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

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2016 Spur Award Winners (Western Writers of America)

2016 Spur Award Winners (Western Writers of America)

Review: "Bad Country" by CB McKenzie

Rodeo Grace Garnet and his old dog live in a long ago abandoned office of a planned community trailer park originally known, according to the faded sign skewered on a splintered pole, as “Vista Montana Estates--An Active Life Community.”  Considering this is Arizona the use of  “Montana” might be just one of the many reasons the project failed. Not only is there no community, the only things active on this day is Rodeo, his dog, and the engine on the aging truck they sit inside as they contemplate the male corpse faced down in the dirt in front of them. The body isn’t going to go anywhere so Rodeo heads back down the road to find cell phone reception. Once he is able to call it in to Los Jarros County Sheriff “Apache” Ray Molina he is told that Rodeo’s dead body is going to have to wait a bit longer in the blistering Arizona sun because the Sheriff and everyone he has to use is over at the place known as “The Boulder Turn-Out” with another dead body. It has been a bad few days in the county as these are not the only two bodies found recently.

Rodeo Grace Garnet likes his privacy, and for good reason, and therefore lives as far away from others as possible in an area the locals call “El Hoyo” or “The Hole.” There is more than a hint of noir and loneliness to the old rodeo cowboy who feels the pains every day of his bull riding past.  Unfortunately, having a dead body at the gates to his place brings the police and unwanted attention. 

Considering some of the things that Rodeo has been involved in due to his assorted low paying and sporadic jobs of bounty hunter, warrant server, and private investigator, situations have not always gone as well as they should have. Garnett has quite a reputation in the area and some of it is decidedly negative. A dead body outside his gates is another problem and makes him a murder suspect in the mind of some. Not that he really cares what most folks think even when it comes down to getting a job. He does have quite a few bills to pay, not much in the bank, and private detective Rodeo Grace Garnett needs to work. Good thing he knows a few people across Arizona and they don’t have much choice in detectives and don’t trust outsiders.

A recent winner of the Spur Award, The Tony Hillerman Prize, as well as an Edgar Award nominee, author CB McKenzie’s debut novel is a good one. A highly atmospheric read, this novel takes readers on a mystery unlike many others. Part of that is the stylistic choice of all narration with no use of quotation marks to set off the dialogue, a lack of attribution in many cases, as well as the occasional run on sentence. A significant part of that is due to the noir loner character of Rodeo Grace Garnet who clearly prefers his time alone with his elderly dog under the wide open desert vistas to his occasional efforts at communicating with other people. Not only does Garnet hate to talk to folks, many of the characters involved are Native American and depicted as having limited language skills. Therefore, at times, the dialogue is a bit clunky and does not flow well.

The above makes this a read that does not work for some folks if a quick survey of various one and two sentence reviews with as many stars is indicative of anything. The dialogue bothers some as does the occasional run on sentence as well as the few typos. Most seem to reference a lack of editing while not understanding that the dialogue/narration issue is the author’s style and therefore editing of said book should not change the author’s style. It is also interesting to note that despite the fact that so many readers on various lists claim that it is the kiss of death to kill, or in this case injure a beloved pet, those who are reviewing this book pro or con are not mentioning the dog’s injury that occurs late in the read.

While some would and have used the phrase “transcends the genre” and ones like it to describe Bad Country (which will drive some folks absolutely nuts), the phrase not only compliments the work, it also explains the situation accurately. Bad Country by CB McKenzie, is a solidly good read that is just a bit different from many crime and or mystery novels. One does hope this is the successful start to a possible series. 
 

Bad Country

CB McKenzie

http://www.cbmckenziejr.com

A Thomas Dunne Book (Minotaur Books)

November 2014

ISBN#978-1-250-05354-1

Hardback (also available in e-book and audio formats)

304 Pages

$24.99

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Review: "The Coyote Tracker: a Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger Novel" by Larry D. Sweazy

May 1875 finds Texas Ranger Josiah Wolfe back in Austin, Texas and very much in career limbo. Wolfe is still is a Texas Ranger despite the recent events and the media backlash. But, he has been told to stay in Austin and await the arrival of Captain Leander McNelly who will decide one more time if Ranger Wolfe is worth it. Not only is his career with the Rangers at stake, so too is the future of the Texas Rangers as an organization thanks to the coverage by the Austin Statesman newspaper. Both Wolfe and the Rangers have a negative connotation these days and forces are moving to do away with both.

At least Wolfe’s forced idleness has a couple of positive aspects. One is that he is able to court Pearl Fikes. A romance is building there between the widow Fikes and Wolfe despite the issues they both bring to a relationship. Being home in Austin also means Wolfe can spend time with his rapidly growing son, Kyle. During his frequent and often long absences, he is cared for by Ofelia who has been with him many years now and is far more than a trusted caregiver. She is akin to family and Wolfe is well aware of his obligations to her and others.

Obligations that also are present with fellow Ranger Scrap Elliot. Scrap finds himself in the local jail, accused of murdering a whore. Seen at the body with blood on his hands, he briefly fled the scene, and now there seems to be a push to hang him for the most recent murder as well as for several other crimes. Crimes he certainly did not commit though those in charge seem more concerned about hanging any suspect rather than hanging the correct person. What role Scrap’s worsening situation plays in the recent string of events involving a jail break, a mysterious cypher, a strangely familiar horse, and other recent events is something Wolfe has to figure out in time to save the life of his friend.

Award winning author Larry D. Sweazy has crafted yet another outstanding tale in this long running series. Along with multiple plot lines and action are authentic details that make this novel and series come alive for readers. More mystery in a western setting than a western in a western setting, it may not appeal as much to those who want the typical formulaic western fare. This is not one of those kind of formulaic western novels as Wolfe spends much of the time thinking, asking questions, and dealing with various relationship issues. There is good reason why the novel received the “Spur Award for Best Mass Market Paperback” as The Coyote Tracker: A Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger Novel is good on its own while continuing this excellent series in fine tradition.

The Coyote Tracker: A Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger Novel

Larry D. Sweazy

http://larrydsweazy.com

Thorndike Press (Gale, Cengage Learning)

http://www.thorndike.gale.com/

January 2013

ISBN# 978-1-4104-5400-3

Large Print (also available in paperback and e-book)

451 Pages

$27.99

Material was supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System. The cover for the award winning paperback version is below.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013