Pine Marten

by Wallace J. Swenson

Pine Marten tells of two people dealing with a soul-shattering tragedy in theMissouri wilderness of 1855. Woodcutter Salem Greene leaves his family alone fortwo days, then returns to find his wife and nine-year-old daughter brutallyraped and murdered. His son is missing, presumed dead. Greene finds theperpetrators, but the horrific way he exacts retribution makes him feel unfit tolive with others. He goes into exile and tries desperately to forget his past.Unbeknownst to Greene, his twelveyear- old son Martin escaped and lives in acave two miles away. Naked but for a ragged bloody nightshirt, and defenselessexcept for a butcher knife, Martin engages in a primal search for food by day.At night, he hides, terrified by what lurks outside the cave. One trying toescape the past; one searching for a future. Will their paths cross again?

231 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2015

Reviews

[jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unusual book. I don't know if I was prepared for the way it was written. I don't think that the writing is that good, either. I read the book in about 24 hours, and honestly while I was reading it that fast I was thinking this book isn't that good, but something kept me reading. It wasn't the characters, they were just whatever. I think part of me wanted to know what was going to happen to the kid. Also there is an interesting take on the justice of man, vs the justice of God, and a man dealing with his demons. Like I said I don't think that the writing is that good, but the book is fast paced and an all right read. I also wouldn't really consider this book a western. I takes place in Louisiana in the 1850's.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, nice story. Good character development.