What do you think?
Rate this book
The Clearing
1979. The Cold War, a troubled family, and murder.
Vietnam veteran Detective Dean Wallace’s fondness for whiskey ended his New York City detective career and marriage. Having retreated to his hometown, Zion, to the only detective job he could find, he works under the shadow of his father, the Chief of Police.
A few days into the new year, the body of Billy Nimitz--a young automobile repair shop employee--turns up in the woods just on the United States side of the border. A bullet in his head, a copy of The Communist Manifesto in his pocket, and a gun in the snow.
Dean’s investigation takes him down a tangle of paths and connections with a local biker gang, drugs, rivalries, a tight-knit group of friends, an unpopular girlfriend, and a crime in Montreal. As Dean strives to find Billy’s killer, his shunned brother returns to the family, stirring up memories. Painful memories Dean would prefer to keep buried in the past.
Vietnam veteran Detective Dean Wallace’s fondness for whiskey ended his New York City detective career and marriage. Having retreated to his hometown, Zion, to the only detective job he could find, he works under the shadow of his father, the Chief of Police.
A few days into the new year, the body of Billy Nimitz--a young automobile repair shop employee--turns up in the woods just on the United States side of the border. A bullet in his head, a copy of The Communist Manifesto in his pocket, and a gun in the snow.
Dean’s investigation takes him down a tangle of paths and connections with a local biker gang, drugs, rivalries, a tight-knit group of friends, an unpopular girlfriend, and a crime in Montreal. As Dean strives to find Billy’s killer, his shunned brother returns to the family, stirring up memories. Painful memories Dean would prefer to keep buried in the past.
274 pages, Paperback
Published September 20, 2016
4 people are currently reading
662 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Kanouse
17 books97 followersPatrick is a mystery author, poet, and technical writer. His poetry has appeared in many journals and websites.
He works for Pearson Education, an educational publisher with offices worldwide, as the director of solutions management and teaches technical communications at IUPUI. He lives with his wife, Gina, and a very spoiled Cavachon, Lorelai, in Westfield, a suburb north of Indianapolis.
He works for Pearson Education, an educational publisher with offices worldwide, as the director of solutions management and teaches technical communications at IUPUI. He lives with his wife, Gina, and a very spoiled Cavachon, Lorelai, in Westfield, a suburb north of Indianapolis.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 7, 2016
I think it's great, but I wrote it!
October 21, 2017
I received an advance copy of this book from the author’s mailing list.
The Clearing by Patrick Kanouse starts out as a clear-cut mystery. Who shot William (Billy) Nimitz in cold blood execution-style on a winter night in Zion, a small town very close to the Canadian border? The shooting is described in chapter one. After following a series of mysteries related to different crimes, I found it interesting to read chapter one again after finishing the novel.
On the path to investigating Billy’s killer, Lt. (Detective) Dean Wallace will make several adjustments in his life as he strives to come to terms with small town Zion life. It is one of those small towns everyone wants to leave but realizes as they hit middle age they have for some reason come back to. In Dean’s case, alcohol abuse led to his failure as a big city cop. Only the luck of having his father as Zion’s Chief of Police allowed him to continue a law enforcement career. A former homicide cop, he felt prepared for the job of finding Billy’s killer. Readers will follow a path littered with many stories before solving the mystery.
Other than losing his former job due to alcohol, Dean had lost his wife and daughter through a divorce. Daughter Jenny loved dad and ex-wife Cindy was agreeable to lengthy visits with Dean. But Cindy was gone for good; she couldn’t put up with Dean’s struggles to recover from Vietnam war experiences. With character Dean, we already have three stories. His family life provides a few more. Police Chief and father Eric is strict, gruff and controlling. Dean’s brother Nolan was killed in Vietnam while brother Tony avoided it by pursuing deferments. Eric shunned Tony, Tony avoided Dean and family tensions provide another story.
Outside the family, it seems Zion has a drug problem. It is one of those “everyone knows” who is doing, producing, and distributing drugs but there is no proof. The acceptance of the situation simmers just below polite social daily interactions of the Zion citizenry. It is possible that drugs are not from a single source which leads to more stories about gang violence. There are hints of official corruption.
There are a lot of stories that Patrick Kanouse ties together well as he arrives at a fairly surprising ending. Along the way, there seem to be a few afterthoughts thrown in. There is a kind-hearted hooker who was necessary for one plot element to work. For the first half of the novel, I believe there was an excessive amount of unnecessary description about minutia. In one case there is a detailed description of how Josh (a suspect) bagged groceries where he worked. I found myself asking why I cared. This seemed to fall away in the second half.
This is a dense novel because of the number of stories but it is a comfortable read because it is straightforward storytelling. If you want to spend a few hours on a weekend with some good stories that support a central mystery, this novel will fill the bill.
The Clearing by Patrick Kanouse starts out as a clear-cut mystery. Who shot William (Billy) Nimitz in cold blood execution-style on a winter night in Zion, a small town very close to the Canadian border? The shooting is described in chapter one. After following a series of mysteries related to different crimes, I found it interesting to read chapter one again after finishing the novel.
On the path to investigating Billy’s killer, Lt. (Detective) Dean Wallace will make several adjustments in his life as he strives to come to terms with small town Zion life. It is one of those small towns everyone wants to leave but realizes as they hit middle age they have for some reason come back to. In Dean’s case, alcohol abuse led to his failure as a big city cop. Only the luck of having his father as Zion’s Chief of Police allowed him to continue a law enforcement career. A former homicide cop, he felt prepared for the job of finding Billy’s killer. Readers will follow a path littered with many stories before solving the mystery.
Other than losing his former job due to alcohol, Dean had lost his wife and daughter through a divorce. Daughter Jenny loved dad and ex-wife Cindy was agreeable to lengthy visits with Dean. But Cindy was gone for good; she couldn’t put up with Dean’s struggles to recover from Vietnam war experiences. With character Dean, we already have three stories. His family life provides a few more. Police Chief and father Eric is strict, gruff and controlling. Dean’s brother Nolan was killed in Vietnam while brother Tony avoided it by pursuing deferments. Eric shunned Tony, Tony avoided Dean and family tensions provide another story.
Outside the family, it seems Zion has a drug problem. It is one of those “everyone knows” who is doing, producing, and distributing drugs but there is no proof. The acceptance of the situation simmers just below polite social daily interactions of the Zion citizenry. It is possible that drugs are not from a single source which leads to more stories about gang violence. There are hints of official corruption.
There are a lot of stories that Patrick Kanouse ties together well as he arrives at a fairly surprising ending. Along the way, there seem to be a few afterthoughts thrown in. There is a kind-hearted hooker who was necessary for one plot element to work. For the first half of the novel, I believe there was an excessive amount of unnecessary description about minutia. In one case there is a detailed description of how Josh (a suspect) bagged groceries where he worked. I found myself asking why I cared. This seemed to fall away in the second half.
This is a dense novel because of the number of stories but it is a comfortable read because it is straightforward storytelling. If you want to spend a few hours on a weekend with some good stories that support a central mystery, this novel will fill the bill.
September 18, 2017
I gladly and freely give my honest 5-star rating for this enthralling book by Patrick Kanouse - I loved it!
War veteran, Lieutenant Dean Wallace has a complicated personal life in Zion County; his Dad's the police chief, his oldest brother was killed in Vietnam, his surviving brother Tony's a draft-dodger and now FBI agent and his ex-wife's remarried and moved away with their daughter Jenny, who's growing up and away from him.
Dean's latest case starts in the eponymous clearing of the title, when local mechanic Billy Nimitz is found murdered near the Canadian border, with 2 guns, a bundle of cash and a copy of The Communist Manifesto at the scene.
With no clues as to why he was even there from friends or family, the case seems to go as cold as the snow Billy was found in - only Dean's persistence in the face of lies, betrayal and obstruction from all sides leads via drugs, espionage and family secrets to his ultimate bitter-tasting triumph.
This book is an absolute must for all lovers of detective thriller and mystery stories - grab it now!
War veteran, Lieutenant Dean Wallace has a complicated personal life in Zion County; his Dad's the police chief, his oldest brother was killed in Vietnam, his surviving brother Tony's a draft-dodger and now FBI agent and his ex-wife's remarried and moved away with their daughter Jenny, who's growing up and away from him.
Dean's latest case starts in the eponymous clearing of the title, when local mechanic Billy Nimitz is found murdered near the Canadian border, with 2 guns, a bundle of cash and a copy of The Communist Manifesto at the scene.
With no clues as to why he was even there from friends or family, the case seems to go as cold as the snow Billy was found in - only Dean's persistence in the face of lies, betrayal and obstruction from all sides leads via drugs, espionage and family secrets to his ultimate bitter-tasting triumph.
This book is an absolute must for all lovers of detective thriller and mystery stories - grab it now!
September 25, 2018
I like the author's style of writing, however, it seemed to take time to get to the main point. There didn't seem to be any major story arcs along the way. The murder happened and the detective went on his merry way to investigate with his partner. It just seemed to take a long time until we hit some action. Perhaps this is the way of the police procedural, however, I found it uneventful until the last four chapters. some nice twists in the end, good fleshing out of the central character and his demons. I think this is a good author with a good way of handling a story, I just I'd rather see more action.
June 30, 2017
This is a good book, especially of those who lived through the time of the Vietnam War. This takes place with someone who went there and made it back, and others he loved never came home. He must also deal with a brother who never went and how the parents felt in the athermath of it all. It is a policeman and how he deals with solving crimes. He runs into drug dealers and communists. He has to sort through a lot, but so do the people around him. I did enjoy this as I lived through this this and my husband went over there and came back with similar questions.
June 24, 2017
This book is about a man who has "lost his way" so to speak, but is trying to find it back. It is also about how your past can become your present. There is a murder and Dean Wallace has to work under his own father, the chief of police. There are many things going on that just add more character to those involved and more problems. You will not see the ending coming! I received ARC of this book. The review is of my own choosing and is my own opinions
July 9, 2017
Strong characters and a great plot make The Clearing a winner.
Patrick Kanouse is a name to look out for if you are a fan of well written and thoughtful police procedural fiction. With a strong cast of characters, clever plot and a twist you won't see coming, The Clearing with leave you well satisfied. Highly recommended.
Patrick Kanouse is a name to look out for if you are a fan of well written and thoughtful police procedural fiction. With a strong cast of characters, clever plot and a twist you won't see coming, The Clearing with leave you well satisfied. Highly recommended.
June 24, 2017
Excellent read. Couldn't put it down once started. I loved the main character. He has flaws and a troubled past. It makes him seem more human and believable. Great storyline. Can`t wait to read more of his books.
July 16, 2017
A very realistic mystery novel. Keeps you guessing all the way to the end. I was not disappointed at all. I look forward to reading more by this author.
October 11, 2017
A great read with an unexpected twist.
My kind of book, will be reading more from this author.
My kind of book, will be reading more from this author.
March 8, 2017
Kindle Unlimited, writer of The Shattered Bull, The Clearing, An Ingenious Murder, and others, some available on kindle unlimited, there are books listed on goodreads that are not listed here so will have to check in to some of those as well.
October 1, 2017
The Clearing is an exciting read, I had to pay close attention to the author's descriptive prose, so as to not miss a detail. Patrick Kanouse's writing easily flows and also includes much specificity; he introduces particulars that weave anticipation to this 'Who-Dun-IT?' here is an example from The Clearing: "She was short, had always been so, and was pale with green eyes that reminded Dean of ripe Granny Smith apples."
May 16, 2017
I loved this book. I stayed up all night to read it. An exciting read with a surprising but believable ending.
October 7, 2016
A police detective story set in a small upper New York state town. The proximity to the Canadian border and a couple hours from Montreal, Zion brings some Frenchness in the poutine, in the cross-cultural exchange of language, and in the main character's Mountie campaign hat, all which find a place towards the beginning of the story. After the setting is established, the U.S.-Canada connection eventually becomes part of a suspicion about counter-intelligence spying during the year 1979 of the Cold War.
The novel begins dramatically with a young man's murder just after New Year's Day in the clearing of a snow-laden forest. This opening scene is told only by the victim; while the ending explains the murderer's motives. That opening and ending remind me of a black/white mask of drama--the one half of the mask the beginning and the other half of the mask the ending. The victim William "Billy" Nimitz is alive only in that beginning scene. The rest of his life is known through the discovery of material evidence and through the opinions of friends and family--a good, nice, working guy without a connection to drugs and a commie activist. Those opinions about him make the ending surprising, as one wonders whether the final explanation of the murderer might be imaginatively contrived rather than actually reflecting the victim. That doubt about the murderer's mental stablity suggests an unreliable narrator, i.e., with regard to whether Nimitz deserves his fate. As police procedural novels are supposed to be realistic, the psychological element muddies the waters but perhaps is more true of life.
There are several happenings in this novel, the search for Nimitz's murderer sometimes seeming less important than the psychological sensitivity of the main character detective Dean Wallace. He's from a family with lingering remorse and unresolved conflicts about the Vietnam War of several years earlier. Those men of the Wallace family are the father and police chief Eric whose feelings are ambivalent about his sons' participation and nonparticipation in Vietnam and the danger it posed to them: Dean, Tony, and Nolan. Though Dean Wallace felt an excitement in doing battle, for years afterward, the traumatic memories about his buddies haunt him.
The setting in the once quiet town, the lingering fallout from Vietnam on the Wallaces, and the search for the murderer and his motivation get entangled with other crimes and corruption in Zion. Through interviews concerning the solution of those crimes, the reader comes to know its families, individuals, businesses, and groups. Nearly everyone of them is a suspect at one time or another.
A brief video about this novel by the author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwOwz...
The novel begins dramatically with a young man's murder just after New Year's Day in the clearing of a snow-laden forest. This opening scene is told only by the victim; while the ending explains the murderer's motives. That opening and ending remind me of a black/white mask of drama--the one half of the mask the beginning and the other half of the mask the ending. The victim William "Billy" Nimitz is alive only in that beginning scene. The rest of his life is known through the discovery of material evidence and through the opinions of friends and family--a good, nice, working guy without a connection to drugs and a commie activist. Those opinions about him make the ending surprising, as one wonders whether the final explanation of the murderer might be imaginatively contrived rather than actually reflecting the victim. That doubt about the murderer's mental stablity suggests an unreliable narrator, i.e., with regard to whether Nimitz deserves his fate. As police procedural novels are supposed to be realistic, the psychological element muddies the waters but perhaps is more true of life.
There are several happenings in this novel, the search for Nimitz's murderer sometimes seeming less important than the psychological sensitivity of the main character detective Dean Wallace. He's from a family with lingering remorse and unresolved conflicts about the Vietnam War of several years earlier. Those men of the Wallace family are the father and police chief Eric whose feelings are ambivalent about his sons' participation and nonparticipation in Vietnam and the danger it posed to them: Dean, Tony, and Nolan. Though Dean Wallace felt an excitement in doing battle, for years afterward, the traumatic memories about his buddies haunt him.
The setting in the once quiet town, the lingering fallout from Vietnam on the Wallaces, and the search for the murderer and his motivation get entangled with other crimes and corruption in Zion. Through interviews concerning the solution of those crimes, the reader comes to know its families, individuals, businesses, and groups. Nearly everyone of them is a suspect at one time or another.
A brief video about this novel by the author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwOwz...
October 12, 2016
I thought this was a very entertaining story. The characters were complex and nuanced. The plot was carefully thought out and contained some surprises. I would definitely read more about Dean Wallace and Zion.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews