Wildcat Play: A Mystery

by Helen Knode

"This book is a blast--a gutsy, funny heroine and a story that's a pulse-pounding thrill ride" (Janet Evanovich).



Ann Whitehead has spent some time as a hipster Hollywood film critic, but she grew up in the grittier and less glamorous world of the oil and gas industry. So she's not at all out of her element when her grandfather's friend, who owns an oil company in the San Joaquin Valley, gets her a job with a contractor drilling his wildcat well. Ready for a lifestyle change after a close call with a killer, she welcomes the hard work, and even loves her crusty old boss.

Then a guy on her crew is killed by a falling hammer. Sheriffs rule it an accident, but Ann's LAPD squeeze, Det. Doug Lockwood, says it's murder. Of course, Ann can't resist the challenge of chasing a killer--until the killer starts chasing her . . .

Wildcat Play is a wild ride, full of bad behavior and belly laughs, eccentric characters and small-town atmosphere--starring a heroine who never does anything halfway.

"Conspiracy, murder, and family secrets eventually explode in an exciting conclusion." --Publishers Weekly

"I fell in love with the people, the place and most of all the words." --Michael Connelly

311 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

A long, winding road brought me to novels. There was a fling with Cornell's Ph.D program in English that got me an M.A. in Theater instead. There was a longer and much sexier run through alternative journalism, from the East Village Eye in New York to the L.A. Weekly in Los Angeles. At the Weekly I mostly reviewed movies, but also covered theater, performance art, music, books, local events, politics -- and ended up with a regular column called "Weird Sister." At some point I got exhausted with movies and newspapers. It pushed me to write a novel, The Ticket Out, a murder story based on my experiences as a Hollywood fringe-dweller. The second novel is equally personal. I was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, the heart of the Canadian oil business, and Knodes have worked in oil since the nineteenth century. This history inspired Wildcat Play, a warm hello and goodbye to a family tradition and grassroots American oil.

Reviews

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the ending of this book was really good, however the beginning was a little drawn out. The characters were great and well described.

[Dimitrije Vojnov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drugi roman u serijalu o Ann Whitehead prati ovu junakinju u novoj životnoj pustolovini tokom koje se desi i ubistvo. WILDCAT PLAY: A MYSTERY je ponovo smešten u milje koji Helen Knode dobro poznaje ali je to dijametralno suprotan ambijent od onog iz TICKET OUT.
Naime, glavna junakinja napušta Los Anđeles i Holivud i odlazi da radi na naftnim poljima koja je istorijski snažno obeležio uticaj njene moćne naftaške porodice. Međutim, ona odlazi da radi na bušotini koja ispituje jedno polje, na terenu, na najniže plaćenom poslu, u gestu pobune.
U izvesnom smislu ova promena miljea jako evocira Rafelsonov film FIVE EASY PIECES koji se takođe dešava na naftnim bušotinama sa glavnim junakom koji ja napustio svoju moćnu porodicu i otišao da radi poslove kao fizički radnik kako bi se odmakao od sveta koga se gadi.
Tako i Ann Whitehead napušta svet filmske kritike i Holivuda koji je je fascinirao kao devojku i mladu ženu i vraća se poslovima koji su je jedino mogli oduševljavati kada je bila devojčica i nije ni slutila koliko je sve to naporno i opasno iako se rukuje velikim mašinama i po ceo dan sedi napolju.
Na naftnoj bušotini se vrlo brzo po njenom dolasku dogodi ubistvo, naizgled nemotivisano, možda samo nesreća ili stradanje radnika usled nepažnje, ali potom kreće da se žiri noir mreža gde Ann popije udarac u potiljak i kreću da se pojavljuju razni ljudi sa raznim motivima.
WILDCAT PLAY: A MYSTERY je detektivski roman koji je to i po svojoj formi i po suštini, ali kao što je TICKET OUT bio pre svega jedna meditacija o Holivudu i položaju žena u njemu, tako je i ovo nostalgična priča o američkoj unutrašnjosti, periodu kada je kapitalizam još uvek nosio dozu avanturizma u sebi, generalno priča o "nevidljivim" ljudima koji zapravo pokreću Ameriku.
Za razliku od TICKET OUT koji dekonstruiše Holivud, WILDCAT PLAY na kraju cele priče uprkos svim negativcima koje prikazuje reafirmiše ovaj svet. U vrednosnom smislu, WILDCAT PLAY je priča o "stvarnim ljudima" sa "stvarnim problemima" dok je TICKET OUT bio priča o ljudima opterećeni raznim formama fikcije, bilo da su to priče koje žele da predstave, priče o kojima arbitriraju ili priče koje su izgradili o sebi.
Otud, WILDCAT PLAY je posvećen manje poznatom ali ipak dobro znanom miljeu i u tom pogledu je egzotičniji od TICKET OUT. Same okolnosti zločina i zavera koja stoje iza njega su ipak utemeljeniji ali sa zdravom dozom noir invencije i bizarnosti.
Nisam siguran da li će Ann Whitehead nastaviti da živi i radi u romanima ali ovo je veoma atipičan drugi roman u detektivskom serijalu jer iz prvog prenosi samo iskustvo junakinje, ali menja sve ostalo što joj se dešava.
Međutim, ono što se ne menja je njena fascinacija zločinom u čije istraživanje tone kao u živi pesak i Helen Knode to tako živopisno prikazuje da time ulazi u srž onoga po čemu se krimić razlikuje od ostalih žanrova. Ima mnogo "čistijih" kriminalističkih romana oko nas, ali malo koji na ovaj način uspeva za zarobi i iskaže tu fascinaciju zločinom.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ann Whitehead is a former LA movie critic now working for an oil drilling company. Then one of co-workers is killed on the job and it is ruled as an accident. But she thinks it is murder and wants to investigate and solve the case.

The author has definitely out a lot of detail regarding the oil drilling business and the mystery keeps one guessing. I enjoyed all that but felt the characters could have been more developed so that as a reader I could care about them.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't even finished this book. I found it hard to follow, probably because I wasn't the least bit emotionally invested in the characters or plot line. I found the main character annoying and difficult to listen to, and the whole thing wildly unrealistic. Couldn't quite finished it- it just felt like a waste of time.

[Antoinette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really wanted to like this book as I loved Ms Knode's first book-The Ticket Out, but it was just OK. It was all over the place at times-almost manic and with so many people I kept forgetting who they were. Too many details re oil business as well.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and thought it was a great summer read. The mystery is set in the oil patch and has lots of interesting detail about how the drillers and tool-pushers work and the people who run them. I am not a big mystery fan, but enjoyed this book.

[Skip Heller · Rating 4 out of 5]

i loved it. funny, smart, warm, suspenseful. very rich, too.

[AM · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started & didn't finish after a few chapters. Beginning was interesting until Knode got into the minutia of wildcatting & the ins & outs of working on an oil rig. yawn.

[Brian Southworth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that inpressed with this book.Very slow-moving and boring.I had to fight just to turn pages.All in all nothing special here.

[Pat Gallagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not read her first book. This rambled on a little too much for me about the actual workings of an oil rig. I see others liked her first book the best, I may try that in the near future.

[Patrick Nichol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't even finish the book. I read a couple chapters and then returned it to the library.