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Skin River
Skin River is the story of Buddy Bayes, a man with a shadowy past trying desperately for a second chance at a peaceful life as a tavern owner in small-town Gunnar, Wisconsin. Buddy has traded his connections in the Chicago underworld for the loose friendship of an assortment of locals who frequent his bar. Before long, with the help of a young single mother who works for him as a waitress, Buddy starts to trust that he's lost himself in exactly the kind of new life he'd imagined.
His hopes for a clean start are shattered, however, when he finds the severed hand of a missing college student and falls headlong into a harrowing situation which has Buddy convinced that his past has come back to haunt him. As events unfold, it becomes clear that things aren't what they seem, and jumping to conclusions proves a disastrous mistake as the true nature of Buddy's situation slowly comes into focus. Skin River is a tense, chilling novel that introduces Steven Sidor, a fine crime writer with an exacting touch and a remarkable talent for suspense.
His hopes for a clean start are shattered, however, when he finds the severed hand of a missing college student and falls headlong into a harrowing situation which has Buddy convinced that his past has come back to haunt him. As events unfold, it becomes clear that things aren't what they seem, and jumping to conclusions proves a disastrous mistake as the true nature of Buddy's situation slowly comes into focus. Skin River is a tense, chilling novel that introduces Steven Sidor, a fine crime writer with an exacting touch and a remarkable talent for suspense.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 2, 2004
1 person is currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Steven Sidor
11 books79 followersI'm the author of the critically-acclaimed dark thrillers Skin River, Bone Factory, and The Mirror’s Edge. My latest novel of terror, Pitch Dark, is about a young woman on the run from a dangerous apocalyptic cult.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 17, 2023
MUST READ??? Für mich ein Satz mit X. Lest euch mein kurzes Zitat durch. Wenn euch der Stil gefällt, ihr Sprünge mögt und emotional keinen Wert auf Nähe zu den Figuren legt, dann ist es euer Buch. Sonst leider nicht. Nicht spannend, schwer lesbar, keine Überraschungen oder Wendungen. Einfach nur anstrengend in meinen Augen. Größtenteils wegen dem Stil.
September 8, 2019
Kinda short. not complicated. chilling at points. good read.
August 18, 2008
A dark, moody story, this is one of those mysteries in which virtue is relative. Buddy Bayes came to rural Wisconsin from Chicago, trying to escape his criminal past and the men who have promised to kill him. Now he owns a bar, goes fishing in the mornings and contemplates a relationship with Margot, a single mother who has left an earlier abusive marriage.
Buddy toys with the idea that he has left his past behind. Then he finds a severed hand from a young woman who had recently been abducted. Suddenly, Buddy's past is crowding very much into his present.
This is Steven Sidor's first novel, and it's all the more remarkable for that. He deftly shifts the book's focus from character to character, from Buddy, to the sheriff who suspects him, to Margot, to the homicidal psychotic who calls himself "the Goatskinner". Sidor lets us know who the murderer is early in the story and explores this person's pathology from his own perspective. Sidor builds a sense of horrific tension through focusing on the killer's psychology, rather than dwelling on the "gross out" aspects.
It wasn't a happy story, but it kept me up at night reading that notorious "one more chapter".
Buddy toys with the idea that he has left his past behind. Then he finds a severed hand from a young woman who had recently been abducted. Suddenly, Buddy's past is crowding very much into his present.
This is Steven Sidor's first novel, and it's all the more remarkable for that. He deftly shifts the book's focus from character to character, from Buddy, to the sheriff who suspects him, to Margot, to the homicidal psychotic who calls himself "the Goatskinner". Sidor lets us know who the murderer is early in the story and explores this person's pathology from his own perspective. Sidor builds a sense of horrific tension through focusing on the killer's psychology, rather than dwelling on the "gross out" aspects.
It wasn't a happy story, but it kept me up at night reading that notorious "one more chapter".
April 2, 2011
Skin River is a very dark tale. Almost dark enough to go over into the realm of some horror stories. A very good idea for a story actually that almost crashed due to the authors writing style. It took me almost 50 pages to begin to settle in with this one. It felt almost like staring at one of those older cameras with the big flash bulbs that you used to jam on top of the camera. Every now and then the author would set off the flash. Anyone who can remember the terror of being temporarily blinded with a bright corona of light burned into ones retina would know the shock. That was what it was like every now and then as the author would jump here and there from page to page. There are even sudden flashbacks that will send the reader tumbling down the rabbit hole as you chase after the white rabbit. As I say, this is a very good story and I hope that the writing style can be put off as this is the authors first novel. I would like to read more by this author and I would like to see some polish put on some parts of his books, perhaps he can shine them up into the four star category.
September 4, 2007
SKIN RIVER (Crime Thriller – Wisconsin-Cont.) – Okay
Steven Sidor – 1st book
St. Martin’s Minatour, 2004 – Hardcover
Buddy Bayes, a man trying to get away from his past with the Chicago underworld, is trying to lead a quite life in small-town Wisconsin. But when women start disappearing, he becomes a suspect, people around him are attacked and his former crime partner is after him, he goes from trying to get by to trying to survive.
*** Maybe I’ve just hit my limit of the anti-hero, and I freely state that I need to feel an affinity to the characters to really like a book. I know others have really liked this book, but I found myself reading to get to the end, particularly as you know, fairly early on, who is the killer. In fact, I felt more emphasis was spent building his characters than the protagonist. On the plus, it is well written and suspenseful, but I’m going back to books where there are protagonists I like and maybe even have qualities I can admire.
Steven Sidor – 1st book
St. Martin’s Minatour, 2004 – Hardcover
Buddy Bayes, a man trying to get away from his past with the Chicago underworld, is trying to lead a quite life in small-town Wisconsin. But when women start disappearing, he becomes a suspect, people around him are attacked and his former crime partner is after him, he goes from trying to get by to trying to survive.
*** Maybe I’ve just hit my limit of the anti-hero, and I freely state that I need to feel an affinity to the characters to really like a book. I know others have really liked this book, but I found myself reading to get to the end, particularly as you know, fairly early on, who is the killer. In fact, I felt more emphasis was spent building his characters than the protagonist. On the plus, it is well written and suspenseful, but I’m going back to books where there are protagonists I like and maybe even have qualities I can admire.
October 10, 2009
The only way I can describe this book is to say this: this is a book you read when you have nothing else to read. It wasn't written very well and it felt like two stories that the author tried to smush together into one. It just didn't work. I only give it two stars because it's this author's first novel and we can hope that future efforts from him will be better.
June 12, 2014
I read Sidor backwards. I started with his latest, at the time and worked back. I can see his progression as a writer and I'm glad I did it this way. This first effort is a cool plot that's needs a bit more developing. I felt rushed through what could have been a fantastic book if it were three times longer.
June 3, 2015
Thriller - Buddy Bayes is living a low profile rustic lining as a bar owner after running afoul of some Chicago mobsters. The murder of a local girl who had been going to college in Chicago may bring more attention to his existance than he wants. Other deaths occur that may be the product of a serial killer or, as the sheriff suspects, Buddy himself.
June 30, 2015
3.5 stars
It's a quick, easy read with an interesting bad guy. Very little character development and a little too much happening sometimes, plot-wise. But a solid first book and I'd definitely read more from him.
It's a quick, easy read with an interesting bad guy. Very little character development and a little too much happening sometimes, plot-wise. But a solid first book and I'd definitely read more from him.
November 1, 2014
Review to follow soon.
October 10, 2016
first time reading this author
I don't care for the way he wrote the book. It goes from one character to another, to another, etc.. Some characters I don't even know how they fit in. 3 stars
I don't care for the way he wrote the book. It goes from one character to another, to another, etc.. Some characters I don't even know how they fit in. 3 stars
Want to read
July 20, 200807/18/08 rec via bookmooch
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews