The Huntsman

by Whitney Terrell

When a young debutante's body is pulled from the Missouri River, the inhabitants of Kansas City-a metropolis fractured by class division-are forced to examine their own buried history. At the center of the intrigue is Booker Short, a bitter young black man who came to town bearing a grudge about the past. His ascent into white Kansas City society, his romance with the young and wealthy Clarissa Sayers, and his involvement in her death polarize the city and lead to the final, shocking revelation of the wrong that Booker has come to avenge. With razor-sharp detail that presents the city as a character as vivid as the people living there, Whitney Terrell explores a divided society with unflinching insight.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Book Club

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2001

About the author

Whitney Terrell is the author of The Huntsman, a New York Times notable book, and The King of Kings County, which was selected as a best book of 2005 by The Christian Science Monitor. He is the recipient of a James A. Michener-Copernicus Society Award and a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University's Lewis Center for the Arts. He has reported on the war in Iraq for The Washington Post, Slate and National Public Radio and his nonfiction has additionally appeared in The New York Times and Harper's. His third novel, The Good Lieutenant, is out June 7, 2016, from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Reviews

[Zhanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A complicated murder story with a central focus on race and all its implications in a predominantly white environment set in its white ways. Although I found it a bit difficult to get into it, as soon as the plot unfolded, the events, although with several flashbacks back and forth, made for a smooth interesting page-turning read. The reader can't help but be drawn to Booker Short, although his attitude sometimes provokes tension. The rest of the characters are well developed too, each through their stormy background. Part of me wished for a more concrete ending, although thinking about it, the rather vague ending choice just underscores some of the dominant themes of the book.

[Mary Gibbons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating language and a glimpse into a part of the mid-west I know nothing about. Terrell does a wonderful job painting a portrait of race relations a generation after civil rights in KC, MO. His awareness of the depth of each character, and each character's prejudices, keeps the novel moving.

I often felt as though I was too nervous to read what was on the next page. Gripping murder mystery that reads like a coming-of-age novel for both our main characters, Booker and Mercury. [Great names, too].

I recommend it to my friends.

[Kari C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An editor once told me, well, several editors, in fact: show, don't tell. I think Terell does both in this book; it's hard to believe it's his debut novel. The first time I read it, I lost my way, but this time I made it to the end and it was worth it. His writing, descriptions and turn-of-phrase are stunning. Its quality actually makes up for the parts in the book that seem to drag.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel covers racial tension in Kansas City in the 1990s where an African American young man is accused of killing a white woman. The author, Terrell lives in KC also. The descriptions of places and emotions is very evocative. There was a lull about halfway into the book where it was hard to like any of the main characters but then the character development got much better.

[Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

the single most overhyped piece of crap ever

[Cindy Lange · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author is a good writer. There were a couple of reasons I didn't rate the book any higher: one is that the book is trying to be "too many things at once," and needs a bit of focus. The other is that I don't enjoy graphic sex scenes, and there were some. They did, however, relate to the plot in a substantial manner.

It was interesting to read this book right after reading "Thin Blue Smoke." That book is about race relations, also, but in "Thin Blue Smoke," individual friendships between and among people of different races serve to glue the book together, while in "The Huntsman," the strife between the races is one of the motivations which causes people pain and destruction. Also, in "Thin Blue Smoke," the author manages many characters really well, almost in an "epic" fashion, while the author of "The Huntsman" doesn't achieve this consistently. His main character was well drawn, though, and memorable.

[Cathy Leadbeater · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly well written book. Just didn't love the subject matter.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this some time ago, but remember I liked it

[cati · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this. I didn't.

[Kathy jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving this book extra stars because it's written by a local writer and takes place in my hometown. I hope Terrell keeps writing; he can only get better.

A murder mystery set in nearly present day, focused on race in Kansas City. The white girl and the black boy, new money vs poverty, status against parolee.

While the story managed to unfold and, at times, keep my interest with strong characters, reading the book was mostly like driving down a gravel road stuck in first gear, feeling every bump and hole. I hope the next book has better editing to smooth out the storytelling and remove some of the unnecessary detours.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Booker is a young black man who is hired to take care of a group of millionaires hunt club. As his past is revealed you lear who Booker is here at this hunt club and some of his issues. Booker becomes close with one of the member's daughter and when she is found dead he is the person of interest in her death. This book is too wordy and hard to follow. I could hardly stay awake while reading it but I finished it because I kept thinking it would get better.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to get into. It starts getting more exciting towards the end, but I had to skim whole paragraphs just to get through it. Overall, the story line/deeper commentary was not that original, predictable, and the writing style tedious.

[Partridge Public]

Terrel, Whitney

[Paul Monroe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't grab me in the first 50 pages,did,nt continue

[Judi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too dark and complicated for me at this moment in my life. Read about half; might be worth revisiting.

[Heidi]

It was a challenging book but that's what made it so good. The whole mystery and all the background information was so intriguing.

[Tim Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book.

[Alex Gleason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Impossible to deny the craft that went into this, and yet it felt like a bit of a slog to me all the same.

[Mari Rydings · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you appreciate another person's love of language and enjoy a challenge, give this book a try. It was a little hard to get it to and tough to follow at times, but the way Terrell crafted his words kept pulling me in. He weaves minor plot lines in to the major one and connects them beautifully. Intricate characters, gritty decriptions and local (to me) settings were just extras!