Pigeon Spring

by Herman Groman

Pigeon Spring
Iconic Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton said, "Danke Schoen to Groman. I enjoyed reading Pigeon Spring from cover to cover." After 25 years as an undercover FBI agent, Matt Steel decides to retire and takes a job as the director of security at a major Las Vegas casino. Matt and Alex, his wife, thought they could finally relax and enjoy life at their ranch in the mountainous region of Death Valley. However, fate takes them on an unexpected path when Alex finds an ancient Native American artifact on their property that plays a pivotal role in the novel's surprise ending. Readers will enjoy following Matt, Alex, and Charlie (Matt's longtime partner at the bureau) as they travel from the glamour and scams of Las Vegas to the beauty and grit of Nevada's rugged gold country. The former FBI agents go to work after Matt recognizes the subtle trademarks a crook he encountered 15 years earlier. Things get personal when Matt discovers that a corrupt official is helping his former nemesis to steal a gold claim from two of his friends. Groman employs a murder for hire scheme, wiretaps, surveillances, and a mystical twist to keep reader engaged from beginning to end. In real life, FBI Agent Herman Groman was like a TV action hero, full of life, full of boyish enthusiasm, a fearless crime fighter who took down dirty judges and dirty cops and scary mobsters. I marveled at his skills as an FBI Agent. And now, much to my surprise and delight, I am marveling at his literary skills and ability to take his larger-than-life experiences and his insatiable appetite for history, and weave them all into Pigeon Spring, a riveting novel chock full of great dialogue and action. Very, very impressive. Can not wait for the next one.
-- Allan Lengel, former reporter for Detroit News and Washington Post; currently editor of ticklethewire.com Gromans debut novel Pigeon Spring is a skillful blend of the nonstop action of Las Vegas and the rural ranch life in Nevadas gold country with a mystical twist. His background as a veteran FBI Special Agent and Las Vegas casino security director gives him a unique and realistic insight into both worlds. I felt the tension and I laughed out loud a couple of times, but my favorite part was when retired FBI Agent Matt Steel catches a predator. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down.
-- Chris Hansen, Dateline NBC Correspondent and Author of To Catch A Predator Herm Groman is one of the sharpest and most courageous investigators I have ever encountered... Among his fellow federal agents, he is something of a legend. The same skills that made him such a formidable lawman are clearly reflected in his new book, Pigeon Spring. He is an astute student of human nature, a keen observer of his surroundings, and has a unique ability to focus on the stuff that really matters. Nevada is a better place because Herm Groman came here, and this book is a testament to his talent for understanding the big picture.
-- George Knapp, 2008 Peabody Award winning investigative reporter and co-host of nationally broadcast radio talk sho, Coast to Coast AM Pigeon Spring has something for every suspense, history and a great story line. Groman not only spins a great yarn, but his years of experience as a Special Agent with the FBI brings a gritty authenticity to the book. A wonderful read.
-- Lt. Randy Sutton, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept;
Author of True Police Stories by Those Who Have Lived Them, A Cops Life and True To protect and Serve. Exciting read from an author who lived the life. A must read...a real page turner!
-- Joe Pistone, aka Donnie Brasco, NY Times best-selling author of Donnie My Undercover Life in the Mafia

242 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 2010

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Review of the novel "Pigeon Spring"


November 12, 2010

I just completed reading Pigeon Spring and wanted to get my thoughts down on paper while the feelings I had from reading the book were fresh in my mind.
The book was a little different than some of the books many of my former colleagues have written reflecting upon their FBI careers. I have to say, that some of the reflections about the FBI, in Pigeon Spring were not my favorite parts of the book though I am deeply grateful for being mentioned by name in the book. The FBI as a career was and remains an all enveloping way of life and every agent I know, worth his salt, worked at it 24 hours a day. It effects not only the agents being but his or her family's as well. It was quite evident that in the book, the wife, Alex was a real FBI wife and the author, I believe captured her perfectly. An FBI Agent does not succeed or even survive without the spiritual and physical support of his or her spouse.
What impressed me most about the book were the spiritual undertones of the book which were highlighted by Alex' spiritual and dream like experiences. The relationship between Alex and Matt was based on the true commitment every married couple, hopes and prays for in their own relationships.
Herman Groman captured the beauty and dimension of the desert landscape, not so much by a description of the fauna and geography but in the feelings conveyed to the reader of the magic and spiritual energy it stimulated in the narrator. His characters were all believable in their simplicity and overall goodness, excepting, of course the bad guys.
I believe the book exposes, for me, an unseen or energy driven character in Matt Steel as an indefatigable person who is a dedicated Casino security director, a retired FBI Agent who has "done something" in his career and a solid friend, husband and father.
This is a book of "good" overcoming "evil" and of redemption for both the white man and the Native Americans whose lives, traditions and customs migrating pioneers of European descent impacted in both good and negative ways. Emphasis on the latter.
The book "Pigeon Springs" is both a fast read and a captivating story of man's impact on man and how good triumphs in the end.


Personal note of the reviewer:
I have known Herman Groman for almost thirty years and was his ASAC in Detroit Michigan. He is a man blessed with a great sense of humor and could captivate a group, while he held court with great stories and recollections of details that made the listener part of the story. With humorous people, however, all the great literary and musical figures have always juxtaposed the real side of the "clown" with the tracks of his tears.
Herman was an exciting person to be around and his unbounding energy was infectious. He always displayed an imaginative approach to life and it is why he made such a great undercover FBI agent. There was however, the darker side of his persona and I believe all people of his ilk, me included, suffered from the guilt of not devoting a lot his time and energy to his family. I know Herman was that kind of a guy as I even helped him on some rescue missions and shared my own grief with him at times of similar sufferings.
We did share some good and funny times together and one which touched my heart in a great way and I have never been able to convey it to him. Herman was a combat veteran having won medals for bravery as well as a purple heart. At some point in our association in the Detroit office of the FBI we encountered some case planning and prosecution hurdles that are the bane of all hard driving agents. Herman came into my office and gave me a gift which he insisted I not question his motivations for giving it to me. It was his Purple Heart medal. He was giving it to me as a hallmark for our own personal sufferings and battle scars in managing and prosecuting several very significant cases in Detroit. Giving his medal to me was one of the more significant; personally humbling and gratifying moments in my own FBI career. That Herman had the need to express his feelings to me in such a personal way is what creates lasting bonds among fellow warriors.
Herman has created an interesting and stimulating story in Pigeon Springs and I can see why movie producers are interested.

[Mary Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not too impressed with this first novel.