Call Down the Hawk

Latouche County Mystery #4

by Sheila Simonson

Jane August, an artist who's "a refugee from a wealthy family," is visiting her estranged father and his fifth wife on the Columbia River Gorge. Doing a good turn for a wine maker from neighboring Hawk Farm, she is swept into a morass of family secrets and betrayals–in both the cozy farmhouse and the palatial estate.

Call Down the Hawk centers on two victims, Frank August and Bill Hough (pronounced Hawk), both of whom enjoy conflict for its own sake. Hawk Farm, in the flood plain of the Columbia, is one focus of trouble, with the recent suicide of Hough and his daughter's trial by fire as a soldier in Afghanistan. Another is the August mansion on the bluff above, when Jane August's father vanishes amid charges of his bank's fiscal malfeasance. Undersheriff Rob Neill is called to the scene when a bulldozer in the orchard uncovers Frank August's corpse. Until Chief Madeline Thomas of the Klalos clears the murk of violence from the land, Rob won't be able to uncover the truth.

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 11, 2017

About the author

Ms. Simonson writes mysteries and romantic fiction, and lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Reviews

[Doward Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet the August and Hough (pronounced Hawk) families who live on adjoining properties on the Columbia River Gorge in the Pacific Northwest. Frank August is a retired wealthy banker who has built a large estate and started a vineyard next to the farm of Vietnam Vet, Bill Hough. Frank and Bill both court conflict just because they can. When Bill commits suicide, his estranged son, Russell returns home after being gone for many years to help his mother, Alice and younger sister, Judith, an Afghanistan Vet. Frank's daughter from his first marriage, Jane, has come to visit while teaching some art courses at a nearby college. She wants to get to know her father better and is willing to put up with his fifth wife, who is younger than Jane, to do so. Jane meets Russell when she finds him injured from a falling limb in his cherry orchard. Driving him to the hospital starts her on a new chapter in her life. When Frank's former bank, now run by his son, goes into receivership over subprime mortgages, the two of them fight. The next day Frank disappears and can't be found. It is the general belief that he is on the run from the failed bank mess. Then his SUV is discovered!

I found this to be a compelling read with characters so lifelike that it was like they were in the same room with me, telling their story. The dynamics in both families added to and drove the mystery of "Where is Frank?". This is the fourth book in the A Latouche County Mystery series. Each book appears to involve many of the supporting characters in this setting and each can be read as a stand alone. I was pulled into this complex story and couldn't stop reading until the end delivered up a surprising solution about Frank's disappearance.

[Jeannine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth in Simonson's Latouche County series, and the first I have read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It took a little while to keep track of the many characters, but there is a very helpful list of characters at the front to fall back on. The story takes place in a small community in the Columbia Gorge (Oregon/Washington). Those of you who insist a dead body should show up in the first few pages will be severely disappointed, and for police procedurals I would agree, but in a more character driven mystery I really do enjoy getting to know the characters and the setting before the chaos begins. This particular storyline includes some of the characters of the previous books, but concentrates on 2 feuding and dysfunctional families, and the repercussions from the actions of the overbearing patriarchs. The action is observed primarily through Jane, the estranged daughter of one of the men, who comes to the area to get to know her father and half-brother. She is a splendid character that you will immediately take to and pull for, and is drawn deep into the local community and the two family dynamics. The mystery plot is solid, if secondary to the psychological suspense. I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to reading the rest of the series. Highly recommended.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The new Latouch county mystery pits a California banker, turned Washington vintner, against his neighbors. Throw in a PTSD Veteran and estranged family members as suspects in his murder and Rob Niell must try to unravel the mystery. Some of characters as well as the setting are interesting but unfortunately stereotypes abound. There is a useful cast of characters in the front of the book.