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Sam McCain #9
Bad Moon Rising
The murder of a wealthy young woman sparks a backlash against the hippie commune that has recently arrived in Black River Falls. 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 readers his richest portrait yet about Black River Falls and its people.
In this lively and poignant new novel, Ed Gorman offers readers his richest portrait yet about Black River Falls and its people.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
17 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Ed Gorman
468 books119 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was a prolific American author and anthologist, widely recognized for his contributions to crime, mystery, western, and horror fiction. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gorman spent much of his life in the Midwest, drawing on that experience to set many of his novels in small towns. After working over two decades in advertising, political speechwriting, and industrial filmmaking, he published his first novel, Rough Cut, in 1984 and soon transitioned to full-time writing. His fiction is often praised for its emotional depth, suspenseful storytelling, and nuanced characters. Gorman wrote under the pseudonyms Daniel Ransom and Robert David Chase, and contributed to publications such as Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and Black Lizard. He co-founded Mystery Scene magazine and served as its editor and publisher until 2002, continuing his “Gormania” column thereafter. His works have been adapted for film and graphic novels, including The Poker Club and Cage of Night. In comics, he wrote for DC and Dark Horse. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002, he continued writing despite his illness until his passing in 2016. Critics lauded him as one of the most original crime writers of his generation and a “poet of dark suspense.”
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was a prolific American author and anthologist, widely recognized for his contributions to crime, mystery, western, and horror fiction. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gorman spent much of his life in the Midwest, drawing on that experience to set many of his novels in small towns. After working over two decades in advertising, political speechwriting, and industrial filmmaking, he published his first novel, Rough Cut, in 1984 and soon transitioned to full-time writing. His fiction is often praised for its emotional depth, suspenseful storytelling, and nuanced characters. Gorman wrote under the pseudonyms Daniel Ransom and Robert David Chase, and contributed to publications such as Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and Black Lizard. He co-founded Mystery Scene magazine and served as its editor and publisher until 2002, continuing his “Gormania” column thereafter. His works have been adapted for film and graphic novels, including The Poker Club and Cage of Night. In comics, he wrote for DC and Dark Horse. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002, he continued writing despite his illness until his passing in 2016. Critics lauded him as one of the most original crime writers of his generation and a “poet of dark suspense.”
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 24, 2011
How can you not like a novel that uses a CCR song for its title and also mentions the pulp noir master Charles Williams? Sam McCain, early 30s, is the private investigator/attorney living in Black River Falls, Iowa, a small city where a hippie commune (this is 1968, after all) on the city's outskirts creates all sorts of friction. Then a murder occurs, and the plot really thickens. I've grown to like Sam as a person and a private eye. He's self-effacing, has a good heart, and is even-tempered. He understands the social classes, and he moves with charming ease between the haves and have-nots while he's on the case. Then something dark and sinister rears its head later in the novel, and Sam faces a large personal challenge. Hopefully, more titles will follow as we await what fate lurks down the pike for our man Sam. Entertaining, articulate, and just a good PI story, Bad Moon Rising was a first-rate read for me.
June 14, 2015
It's 1968 in this crime novel. Sam McCain is a lawyer that moonlights as a PI to pick up some extra cash. He's called out to a hippie commune outside Black River Falls, Iowa by the leader, Richard Donovan, for a matter he couldn't talk about over the phone. Sam had represented the commune a number of times in court(the sheriff was a bigot in addition to being incompetent and just plain stupid; not mention a nemesis of Sam's).
He's shown a body in the barn, a young woman, the daughter of one of the richest men in town and he knows a s**t storm will hit the commune over this one. Everyone is sure who the killer is, Neil Cameron,a young man who had fallen for the young woman, a tease among the young folk of the town, and been rebuffed. A Viet Nam vet who came back a broken man over something that happened over there.
Sam doesn't believe he did it, which puts him in the middle of opposing sides, as usual, as he continues to investigate the killing, and the others that come, much to the displeasure of the father, the sheriff, the folks who hate the commune(one completely nutty local radio preacher comes to mind).
Author Ed Gorman writes in an engaging style and has the period details correct. I was just growing up at the time the novel was set and remember a lot of this stuff well. Even though I lived in a different part of the country, some fashions are universal.
It was all familiar. which gives one a feeling of being there, just off stage, observing the action.
Loved it.
He's shown a body in the barn, a young woman, the daughter of one of the richest men in town and he knows a s**t storm will hit the commune over this one. Everyone is sure who the killer is, Neil Cameron,a young man who had fallen for the young woman, a tease among the young folk of the town, and been rebuffed. A Viet Nam vet who came back a broken man over something that happened over there.
Sam doesn't believe he did it, which puts him in the middle of opposing sides, as usual, as he continues to investigate the killing, and the others that come, much to the displeasure of the father, the sheriff, the folks who hate the commune(one completely nutty local radio preacher comes to mind).
Author Ed Gorman writes in an engaging style and has the period details correct. I was just growing up at the time the novel was set and remember a lot of this stuff well. Even though I lived in a different part of the country, some fashions are universal.
It was all familiar. which gives one a feeling of being there, just off stage, observing the action.
Loved it.
July 3, 2021
The Penultimate Sam McCain Book
Things are changing rapidly in Sam McCain’s town. Malls, fast food, new housing developments, long-time stores out of business, and the 1960s with its raging Vietnam War and the hippies - it’s a lot to take in. He’s at least 32 in this book, ten years after the first book in the timeline (not the first book in the series, however). And as usual, Gorman’s mystery is solved with the person I least expected.
Things are changing rapidly in Sam McCain’s town. Malls, fast food, new housing developments, long-time stores out of business, and the 1960s with its raging Vietnam War and the hippies - it’s a lot to take in. He’s at least 32 in this book, ten years after the first book in the timeline (not the first book in the series, however). And as usual, Gorman’s mystery is solved with the person I least expected.
November 22, 2016
Ed Gorman could have drawn on nostalgia alone when he created Sam McCain but he aimed higher. The Iowa lawyer-investigator gets caught up in the social divisions of 1950s and '60s America. This book drops us into the raging cultural battles of 1968. A local hippie commune is suspected of being responsible for the death of a young woman from a prominent family. Sam is hired to find her killer, then told by his client to drop the matter. As he digs into this mystery, he alienates large segments of town. As always, we know Sam can be counted on to find the truth no matter what. Bad Moon Rising was also enjoyable for seeing how many of the secondary characters have grown and changed over the decade from the first book. A serious girlfriend for the unlucky-at-love Sam was also welcome. If you've enjoyed previous Sam McCain stories this one will not disappoint; if not, the book is an excellent historical mystery.
October 31, 2011
3.5 Such a great fun series with interesting characters although my favorite judge just puts in a token appearance in this one. Townspeople clash with the hippies in the 60's, as do the leading imperious churchman of the town. McCain gets involved when there is a murder of a local whose body is found on the commune.
March 31, 2016
Character centered story with a logical plot. Didn't guess the ending until the chapter before the end, and the resolution follows clearly from the characters. Uses Vietnam era as colorful setting that runs from cartoonish to realistic, depending on how deep Gorman goes into the character. A fun read.
May 15, 2023
The late 20th century setting was spot on, replete with all the issues of the day (social and political). It was a blast from the past for me and I liked the atmosphere a lot. The protagonist, Sam McCain, seemed to be a nice guy, as well. He’d weathered some difficult personal times, but he didn’t seem to show any bitterness. He didn’t demonstrate prejudice and seemed determined to genuinely help people whenever he could.
Bad Moon Rising echoes the lyric from a Credence Clearwater Revival song released in the spring of the year in which the story is set. The lyric suggests an apocalypse of sorts, but no such threat really exists in the novel. Indeed, I think one of the reasons I didn’t like the novel as well as I liked the setting and the protagonist was because the “threat clock” wasn’t ticking (at least in my brain). There didn’t seem to be any real urgency. And, even though one sensed that the protagonist might be correct in his disagreement with the incompetent, nepotism-placed law enforcement officer, it didn’t seem like he had any real skin in the game.
Okay, I know that his entire livelihood and vocation are threatened by an angry client, but the client seemed long on threats and short on follow-through. The threat only seemed viable for a few pages or so. Another threat actually knocked McCain out and concussed him, but there was never a sense of a recurring threat. Indeed, the biggest threat to McCain seemed to be getting called up for Vietnam with his National Guard unit. I understand that threat, having had a lottery number that just missed being called up, but it isn’t the kind of obstacle that glues a novel together (just offers a slight tease for an ending).
The sad thing is that Bad Moon Rising is full of valid human insights. At one point, McCain tries to comfort a young woman (upon whom he has no sensual designs): “I put my hands gently on her shoulders and started muttering all the stupid things people mutter at times like these, a reminder of how difficult it is to really comfort someone.” (p. 119) At another point, a female character throws McCain’s ideas about women in his face: “You’re one of those guys Van always told me about—the ones who idealize girls.” (p. 204)
Still, the biggest problem (for my taste) is that the mystery isn’t satisfying. As a reader, I felt that solving the crime or crimes didn’t really matter in the long run. Sometimes, I can accept that in a mystery, but it somehow didn’t work for me in Bad Moon Rising. I’m afraid the Sam McCain mystery series isn’t likely to reappear in my to be read file even in the far future.
Bad Moon Rising echoes the lyric from a Credence Clearwater Revival song released in the spring of the year in which the story is set. The lyric suggests an apocalypse of sorts, but no such threat really exists in the novel. Indeed, I think one of the reasons I didn’t like the novel as well as I liked the setting and the protagonist was because the “threat clock” wasn’t ticking (at least in my brain). There didn’t seem to be any real urgency. And, even though one sensed that the protagonist might be correct in his disagreement with the incompetent, nepotism-placed law enforcement officer, it didn’t seem like he had any real skin in the game.
Okay, I know that his entire livelihood and vocation are threatened by an angry client, but the client seemed long on threats and short on follow-through. The threat only seemed viable for a few pages or so. Another threat actually knocked McCain out and concussed him, but there was never a sense of a recurring threat. Indeed, the biggest threat to McCain seemed to be getting called up for Vietnam with his National Guard unit. I understand that threat, having had a lottery number that just missed being called up, but it isn’t the kind of obstacle that glues a novel together (just offers a slight tease for an ending).
The sad thing is that Bad Moon Rising is full of valid human insights. At one point, McCain tries to comfort a young woman (upon whom he has no sensual designs): “I put my hands gently on her shoulders and started muttering all the stupid things people mutter at times like these, a reminder of how difficult it is to really comfort someone.” (p. 119) At another point, a female character throws McCain’s ideas about women in his face: “You’re one of those guys Van always told me about—the ones who idealize girls.” (p. 204)
Still, the biggest problem (for my taste) is that the mystery isn’t satisfying. As a reader, I felt that solving the crime or crimes didn’t really matter in the long run. Sometimes, I can accept that in a mystery, but it somehow didn’t work for me in Bad Moon Rising. I’m afraid the Sam McCain mystery series isn’t likely to reappear in my to be read file even in the far future.
December 30, 2021
This is the first of the Sam McCain mysteries that I have read. I was fairly pleased with the book overall, but have to say it was a moderately competent mystery.
However, what made the book come alive for me was the discussion of small town life in the 1960's-- The setting is around the time of the Democratic National convention in Chicago where the police and protestors clashed. The Americana and nostalgia was well-done and brought back a flood of memories of that time period. The author did a great job with fleshing out the world in which the mystery was set.
Sadly, the mystery itself just kind of fell flat, at least for me... The clues were disjointed, etc.
However, what made the book come alive for me was the discussion of small town life in the 1960's-- The setting is around the time of the Democratic National convention in Chicago where the police and protestors clashed. The Americana and nostalgia was well-done and brought back a flood of memories of that time period. The author did a great job with fleshing out the world in which the mystery was set.
Sadly, the mystery itself just kind of fell flat, at least for me... The clues were disjointed, etc.
December 28, 2024
Et siis hipid, august 1968 ja CCR’ilt laenatud pealkiri? Eelmise osa sündmustest on möödas kolm aastat. Selgub, et Sami sekretär on vahepeal abiellunud, lapse saanud ja elementaarse kirjaoskuse omandanud. Reverend Cartwright tegutseb edasi, üritades kaitsta Black River Fallsi elanikke hipide, pornograafia ja seksi eest.
Sam on ostnud uue auto (kabrioleti) ja elab koos 8. jaos tegutsenud Wendyga. Linna naabrusesse on tekkinud hipide kommuun, kuhu Sam kutsutakse mõrva uurima. Peagi saab ta järjekordse obaduse vastu pead ja nüüd kahtlustab isegi tema kallim, et see võib Sami isiksust negatiivselt mõjutada (mul tekkis see mõte juba 7. jagu lugedes).
Pärast seda, kui Sam haiglast välja lastakse, läheb veel tükk aega, enne kui lugu uuesti hoo sisse saab. Üheksandas järjes on vähe uusi tegelasi ja suurem osa täheruumi kulub põhitegelaste tutvustamisele, kes õigupoolest peaks lugejale eelmistest osadest tuttavad olema. Seekord tapetakse peamine kahtlusalune enne, kui šerif Sykes jõuab ta kinni võtta. Alguses tundub, et põhjuseks oli LSD, siis tuleb mängu kohalike rikaste naistevahetus ja lõpuks veel midagi muud. Just siis, kui Sam tõele jälile jõuab, saab ta teate, et peab rahvuskaardiga Vietnami minema.
Pealkiri on nats eksitav – kuri kuu jääbki tõusmata... ja CCR „Bad Moon Rising“ valmis alles aasta hiljem.
Sam on ostnud uue auto (kabrioleti) ja elab koos 8. jaos tegutsenud Wendyga. Linna naabrusesse on tekkinud hipide kommuun, kuhu Sam kutsutakse mõrva uurima. Peagi saab ta järjekordse obaduse vastu pead ja nüüd kahtlustab isegi tema kallim, et see võib Sami isiksust negatiivselt mõjutada (mul tekkis see mõte juba 7. jagu lugedes).
Pärast seda, kui Sam haiglast välja lastakse, läheb veel tükk aega, enne kui lugu uuesti hoo sisse saab. Üheksandas järjes on vähe uusi tegelasi ja suurem osa täheruumi kulub põhitegelaste tutvustamisele, kes õigupoolest peaks lugejale eelmistest osadest tuttavad olema. Seekord tapetakse peamine kahtlusalune enne, kui šerif Sykes jõuab ta kinni võtta. Alguses tundub, et põhjuseks oli LSD, siis tuleb mängu kohalike rikaste naistevahetus ja lõpuks veel midagi muud. Just siis, kui Sam tõele jälile jõuab, saab ta teate, et peab rahvuskaardiga Vietnami minema.
Pealkiri on nats eksitav – kuri kuu jääbki tõusmata... ja CCR „Bad Moon Rising“ valmis alles aasta hiljem.
September 7, 2024
Private Eye Sam McCain is living in Black River Falls, Iowa in 1968, with national political and cultural upheaval hitting his little town in quirky ways, and then a murder takes place at a local hippie commune and he is hired to investigate.
Verdict: A paint-by-numbers whodunit that leans too hard into sanctimonious, stereotypical, and hypocritical social commentary.
Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
Verdict: A paint-by-numbers whodunit that leans too hard into sanctimonious, stereotypical, and hypocritical social commentary.
Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
September 24, 2018
A return to our attorney/lawyer as he investigate the murder of the wealthiest man, in town, daughter is murder near a commune. The police feel they have caught the right person. One of the hang down looking people from the commune. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
July 15, 2012
Published by AudioGo in 2012
Read by Joe Barrett
Duration: 6 hours, 6 minutes.
This is the first book I have read (or for that matter even seen) in the Sam McCain series. Normally, I would not recommend jumping in on the ninth book in a series, but it is a testament to the skill of the author, Ed Gorman, that I was able listen to Bad Moon Rising and join right in and not feel lost at all. The titles in the series all come from music from the general time that the book is set in.
It is late August 1968. It is hot in Black River Falls, Iowa. The book starts with Sam McCain at a party watching the violence of the Democratic National Convention. Hippies are on TV and hippies are in Black River Falls. They are a source of controversy as their free love lifestyle, long hair and drug usage rankle a lot of people in small town Iowa. They live on an old farm with a history of tragedy and that history continues as the daughter of the local millionaire is found dead in a barn on the commune. She was a frequent visitor on the farm and was known to date a resident so the finger of suspicion is immediately pointed at the hippies. Sam McCain is called out by the leader of the commune because he is the only attorney in town that will have anything to do with them. Tensions escalate as McCain tries to figure out what happened.
McCain is an interesting character...
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2012/...
Read by Joe Barrett
Duration: 6 hours, 6 minutes.
This is the first book I have read (or for that matter even seen) in the Sam McCain series. Normally, I would not recommend jumping in on the ninth book in a series, but it is a testament to the skill of the author, Ed Gorman, that I was able listen to Bad Moon Rising and join right in and not feel lost at all. The titles in the series all come from music from the general time that the book is set in.
It is late August 1968. It is hot in Black River Falls, Iowa. The book starts with Sam McCain at a party watching the violence of the Democratic National Convention. Hippies are on TV and hippies are in Black River Falls. They are a source of controversy as their free love lifestyle, long hair and drug usage rankle a lot of people in small town Iowa. They live on an old farm with a history of tragedy and that history continues as the daughter of the local millionaire is found dead in a barn on the commune. She was a frequent visitor on the farm and was known to date a resident so the finger of suspicion is immediately pointed at the hippies. Sam McCain is called out by the leader of the commune because he is the only attorney in town that will have anything to do with them. Tensions escalate as McCain tries to figure out what happened.
McCain is an interesting character...
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2012/...
July 3, 2015
Library Audible
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, Van, 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.
The local rev is a con who succeeds in getting money left right and centre in his money raising schemes. (background)
Paul Mainwaring hires Sam until Neil is killed which initially looks like suicide. Another successful sports boy genuinely commits suicide as his parents argue and thus due to liking the sister of Van then rejected gives up.
Sarah's brother Neil killed Van. Van teased and set boys up and in the end got herself killed by Neil at the hippie commune site.
Neil got Van's sister Niccol pregnant and it angered Sarah so much she actually shot Neil herself.
Paul Mainwaring paid for Sarah's lawyer and Sam received his Vietnam call up papers.
Good story overall. Sam and Wendy really in love I like it.
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, Van, 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.
The local rev is a con who succeeds in getting money left right and centre in his money raising schemes. (background)
Paul Mainwaring hires Sam until Neil is killed which initially looks like suicide. Another successful sports boy genuinely commits suicide as his parents argue and thus due to liking the sister of Van then rejected gives up.
Sarah's brother Neil killed Van. Van teased and set boys up and in the end got herself killed by Neil at the hippie commune site.
Neil got Van's sister Niccol pregnant and it angered Sarah so much she actually shot Neil herself.
Paul Mainwaring paid for Sarah's lawyer and Sam received his Vietnam call up papers.
Good story overall. Sam and Wendy really in love I like it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2015
This is a very special 'private eye' series built around a lawyer and special court investigator, Sam McCain, in a small town in the midwest (Iowa) in the fifties and sixties. I absolutely love this series for several reasons:
1. the wonderful immersion into a different time, spanning a decade from the late fifties to the late sixties. The descriptions are detailed, evocative, engaging and realistic. They are exceptionally well done.
2. The protagonist is a likeable average joe, who is easy to identify with and tells the stories in the first person. His back story is as engaging and interesting as the murder mysteries he gets involved in, and has become the main reason why I have become hooked on this series.
3. There are plenty of connections to the pop culture of the fifties and sixties, which is a bonus for any lover of music, books, cinema and culture of the period.
4. The mysteries are well crafted and keep you guessing until the end.
5. Every single one of the entries in these series is excellent without exception and well worth the read.
Give this a try, you won't regret it. I read all 9 books in 2 months and can't wait for the 10th entry, 'Riders' on the Storm', that will appear in October 2014! I hope Mr. Gorman gets the opportunity to write several more before he retires.
1. the wonderful immersion into a different time, spanning a decade from the late fifties to the late sixties. The descriptions are detailed, evocative, engaging and realistic. They are exceptionally well done.
2. The protagonist is a likeable average joe, who is easy to identify with and tells the stories in the first person. His back story is as engaging and interesting as the murder mysteries he gets involved in, and has become the main reason why I have become hooked on this series.
3. There are plenty of connections to the pop culture of the fifties and sixties, which is a bonus for any lover of music, books, cinema and culture of the period.
4. The mysteries are well crafted and keep you guessing until the end.
5. Every single one of the entries in these series is excellent without exception and well worth the read.
Give this a try, you won't regret it. I read all 9 books in 2 months and can't wait for the 10th entry, 'Riders' on the Storm', that will appear in October 2014! I hope Mr. Gorman gets the opportunity to write several more before he retires.
January 10, 2012
This was a pretty good book but not much character development. I liked them all but knew little about them.
The plot line is remeniscent of some old western movies with no surprises, twists or turns. A wealthy and powerful man loses a loved one to murder and attempts to find justice by using his financial recources. The book is rather short at 196 pages and perhaps another one or two hundred pages would have been in order to develop characters or a better plot. The main character, Sam McCain, is a lawyer and investigator for a local judge (no conflict of interest there) and seems to be despised by nearly everyone in town. His relationship with the judge is contemptuous but vague and although she's introduced into the story her reason for being there seems non existant as she's dropped from the story after a page or so, never to be heard from again. I guess one would have to read all the Sam McCain mysteries to get a better understanding.
The plot line is remeniscent of some old western movies with no surprises, twists or turns. A wealthy and powerful man loses a loved one to murder and attempts to find justice by using his financial recources. The book is rather short at 196 pages and perhaps another one or two hundred pages would have been in order to develop characters or a better plot. The main character, Sam McCain, is a lawyer and investigator for a local judge (no conflict of interest there) and seems to be despised by nearly everyone in town. His relationship with the judge is contemptuous but vague and although she's introduced into the story her reason for being there seems non existant as she's dropped from the story after a page or so, never to be heard from again. I guess one would have to read all the Sam McCain mysteries to get a better understanding.
February 24, 2017
In 1968 a hippe commune takes over a farm in Black River Falls, and some in the town are unhappy about it. When a local girl is found murdered in the barn, one man is immediately thought to be guilty. The dead girl is the daughter of the town's richest citizen, Paul Mainwaring, and he hires Sam McCain to find out who is guilty. A widower, Paul has recently married his second wife, Eve, who is known for not getting along with her two stepdaughters. Sam sets out to learn as much as he can about the people at the commune and the girl who was murdered. All that he turns up makes no one happy.
Gorman weaves together the themes of the 1960s, small-town Middle America, and love turned sour. The story moves along at a good clip, with rich characterizations and a captivating view of Black River Falls. Sam is good companion for anyone in trouble, and at the end the reader can only wish him well as a new chapter in his life opens with uncertainty.
Gorman weaves together the themes of the 1960s, small-town Middle America, and love turned sour. The story moves along at a good clip, with rich characterizations and a captivating view of Black River Falls. Sam is good companion for anyone in trouble, and at the end the reader can only wish him well as a new chapter in his life opens with uncertainty.
November 14, 2011
I've really enjoyed the Sam McCain mysteries. The 1st one (The day the music died) was set in 1959. Each one moves a little thru the years....This one is set in 1968. The mood of the novel is a little different, due to the changing landscape of America at the time.(Though Sam still has a quick wit, and can be a smart-ass when needed) It can be read as a standalone, I guess, though the other novels are worth the time, and help flesh out the story....
I hope this is not the last one...but I worry that it might be.
I hope this is not the last one...but I worry that it might be.
February 28, 2012
Found this book at the library and decided to start reading it while my kids were on the computers for a while. Got so engrossed in it I had to loan it out. Two days later I was finished because I couldn't put the darn thing down! Love the characters, writing, pretty much everything about it. I've always liked Ed Gorman, always pick up books by him. Now I'll be looking to see if it says " A Sam McCain Mystery" somewhere on the book as well. Great character and I can't wait to read more!
December 2, 2013
This is the weakest of the Sam McCain series, not because of the writing or plotting, but because it accurately reflects the late sixties, the worst decade of America I think. Black River Falls is torn by the Vietnam war, drugs are rampant, there is a hippie commune outside of town, and Cliffie is still sheriff. How depressing. I hope there is another book that does give some feedback on Sam's earlier girlfrieds and their subsequent lives. Recommended only to Sam McCain fans.
December 19, 2011
This has to be my least favorite of the Sam McCain books, but still worth reading. The story didn't go where I thought it would, and it seemed to get tied up abruptly. Also the ending was definitely different. I hope there will be another in this series, to see what happens with how this one ended.
August 11, 2014
I found this Sam McCain novel a little disappointing although I'm not too sure why. I think that I really wanted Sam to have his life together by now and he's almost there. It was also the undertones that I found rather depressing, the story was complete and left no loose ends but most of these books aren't very long and could be fleshed out more.
January 6, 2012
As much of a slice of its time as a mystery, and a point on representation of a period I can well remember. Not to mention an ending that I did not, in any way, see coming.
Zipped through this one in a day.
Zipped through this one in a day.
October 17, 2012
Great read and set in the early 60s. The backround nostalgia is fun.
February 29, 2012
I liked it. Lots of references to a time when I was a teenager.
October 15, 2012
This is the 1st book by this author I have read. I liked it well enough that I will read more of his books.
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December 27, 2014Category: Mystery
November 28, 2013
I wish Sam well and a safe return tron Vietnam but I wont be here to welcome him back...series just isnt fun anymore....stick with the first 3 or 4 they were the best
October 22, 2014
Another good Sam McCain novel by Gorman.
February 3, 2017
I enjoyed this book, I was a hippie living in Cedar Rapids after Kent State, so this brought back many memories. So so mystery, but lots of memories of that era.
February 10, 2012
Quick Easy Read
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