Sacrifice: A Gun Pedersen Novel

Gun Pedersen #4

by Leif Enger, Lin Enger

In the late 1960s, two young men left a small Michigan town. One was Gunsten Pedersen, who went on to a career with the Detroit Tigers. The other was Harry Summers, a gifted infielder who disappeared from Copper Strike on a rainy June night. Now an excavation crew has unearthed Harry's bones, and with them, grim evidence of murder—a hammer imbedded in Harry's skull. Gun Pedersen, hometown hero turned recluse, has returned for Harry's funeral. But when evidence of the decades-old crime points to Gun's father, Gun is caught in a tragedy from Copper Strike's past. With his own wedding only days away, Gun is finding some hard and wrenching about the things fathers do for sons, about the things you can't ever leave behind, and about a killer who has yet one more life to take. Fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Craig Johnson's Longmire, and William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor enjoy the Enger brothers' Gun Pedersen.***PRAISE FOR THE GUN PEDERSEN SERIES*** “A well-written, fast-reading thriller. . . . It’s got everything.”—Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine“Comeback is so good, you want to sit down and read it all at once. It’s got love and shame and money and the Minnesota woods and lakes, and dark mystery, and a reluctant hero, and it’s written with humor and passion.”—Garrison Keillor“Solidly entertaining.”—ALA Booklist“In Swing, the plot twists as unpredictably as a hangman’s rope. Swing has muscle (and heart, too).”—Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine“[A] sure hit.”—R.D. Zimmerman, author of Deadfall in Berlin“Compelling.”—Publishers Weekly“Sacrifice is the best novel I’ve read this year. Not just the best mystery, but the best novel, period.”—Jeremiah Healy, author of the John Francis Cuddy series“Sharp and engaging!”—Minneapolis Star TribuneTHE SINNERS’ “[A] revelation . . .”—Booklist

229 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2020

About the author

Leif Enger was raised in Osakis, Minnesota, and worked as a reporter and producer for Minnesota Public Radio for nearly twenty years. He lives on a farm in Minnesota with his wife and two sons.

His writing is a smooth mix of romanticism and gritty reality, recalling the Old West's greatest cowboy stories.

Enger's novel, Peace Like a River, was one of Time magazine's top-five novels of the year 2001 and appeared on several other best seller lists.

His second novel, So Brave, Young, and Handsome also appeared on best seller lists in 2008.

For further details, see the author's Wikipedia page.

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is number 4 in a series. The collaboration of the authors to create and develop the character of Gun Pederson is enjoying to read. Most of the books are located in Northern Minnesota and his backstory as a professional baseball player adds interesting characters , locales and story lines to each book. A good 4 star series.

[Rod Henegar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have loved Leif Enger's earlier works and was enthralled. This one was just okay - seemed like it took a long time to get to the point. I do enjoy character driven writing but this one needed a little more to make me turn the pages.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before they get married, Gun and Carol visit Gun's parents in Michigan. They've made the trip to honor a hometown friend whose remains were found in the dismantling of a former school building. Old grudges, old hurts, blackmail, family loyalty and a bit of baseball.

"Peopled." Again!