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Skin Kadash #3
Day One
Born and raised in southern Oregon farm country, Ellie Spaneker flees her home and abusive husband, unaware she's being tracked by an ex-cop in the hire of her vengeful father-in-law. In Portland, retired homicide detective Skin Kadash fills his idle days drinking coffee and searching for Eager Gillespie, a teen runaway of special interest as the only witness in a troublesome and long-unsolved murder. Eager, meanwhile, is on his own, grifting and oblivious to the danger he's in.
Bill Cameron lives in Portland, Oregon. His previous novels are Lost Dog and Chasing Smoke.
378 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2010
13 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Bill Cameron
27 books48 followersBill Cameron is also known as W.H. Cameron.
Crossroad author W.H. Cameron raises backyard chickens in Oregon, and shapes unruly words into captivating people caught in harrowing situations in his writing room. As Bill Cameron, he’s the critically-acclaimed author of the edgy and stirring Skin Kadash mysteries, including County Line. His young adult mystery Property of the State, introducing troubled yet resourceful Joey Getchie, was named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2016.
In a starred review, Kirkus described Property of the State as, “An eminently satisfying series opener for mystery fans who want their downtrodden detectives to be appealing, clever, and unafraid of action.” Booklist said, “Joey’s intense, gripping narration of his heartbreaking life will haunt readers.” Publishers Weekly said of County Line, “Contemporary sharp-edged noir doesn’t get much better than Cameron’s mournful novel featuring ex-cop Skin Kadash.” New York Times bestselling author Chelsea Cain described Day One as “an utterly engrossing page-turner.” In the Vancouver Voice, Carolyn Schultz-Rathbun said, “The body count is positively Shakespearean, but in Cameron’s vision of P-town’s dark underbelly, love really is strong as death. Maybe stronger.” Chasing Smoke received a starred review from Library Journal, and Booklist declared, “it engages the reader on an emotional as well as literary level.”
In 2012, County Line won the Spotted Owl Award for Best Northwest Mystery. Lost Dog was nominated for the 2008 Rocky Award and was a finalist for the 2008 Spotted Owl Award. Cameron’s short story, “The Princess of Felony Flats,” was nominated for a 2011 CWA Short Story Dagger Award. His short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Portland Noir, Murder at the Beach, Killer Year, First Thrills, and A Beast Without A Name: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Steely Dan.
Crossroad author W.H. Cameron raises backyard chickens in Oregon, and shapes unruly words into captivating people caught in harrowing situations in his writing room. As Bill Cameron, he’s the critically-acclaimed author of the edgy and stirring Skin Kadash mysteries, including County Line. His young adult mystery Property of the State, introducing troubled yet resourceful Joey Getchie, was named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2016.
In a starred review, Kirkus described Property of the State as, “An eminently satisfying series opener for mystery fans who want their downtrodden detectives to be appealing, clever, and unafraid of action.” Booklist said, “Joey’s intense, gripping narration of his heartbreaking life will haunt readers.” Publishers Weekly said of County Line, “Contemporary sharp-edged noir doesn’t get much better than Cameron’s mournful novel featuring ex-cop Skin Kadash.” New York Times bestselling author Chelsea Cain described Day One as “an utterly engrossing page-turner.” In the Vancouver Voice, Carolyn Schultz-Rathbun said, “The body count is positively Shakespearean, but in Cameron’s vision of P-town’s dark underbelly, love really is strong as death. Maybe stronger.” Chasing Smoke received a starred review from Library Journal, and Booklist declared, “it engages the reader on an emotional as well as literary level.”
In 2012, County Line won the Spotted Owl Award for Best Northwest Mystery. Lost Dog was nominated for the 2008 Rocky Award and was a finalist for the 2008 Spotted Owl Award. Cameron’s short story, “The Princess of Felony Flats,” was nominated for a 2011 CWA Short Story Dagger Award. His short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Portland Noir, Murder at the Beach, Killer Year, First Thrills, and A Beast Without A Name: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Steely Dan.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 4, 2011
3.5 stars
I agree w/ others' comments that the chapter structure/time-shifting was frustrating/annoying/distracting.
Nevertheless, this is a complex story with some surprising twists. Skin Kadash, now retired from Portland (OR) homicide, remains a richly realized character. While the previous books focused on the urban core, this entry also brings in life and politics in a rural farming community.
(Skin is featured in Chasing Smoke and plays a supporting role in Lost Dogs, Bill Cameron's other fine novels. Although not strictly necessary, I recommend reading the books in order.)
I will continue to seek out this author's work.
I agree w/ others' comments that the chapter structure/time-shifting was frustrating/annoying/distracting.
Nevertheless, this is a complex story with some surprising twists. Skin Kadash, now retired from Portland (OR) homicide, remains a richly realized character. While the previous books focused on the urban core, this entry also brings in life and politics in a rural farming community.
(Skin is featured in Chasing Smoke and plays a supporting role in Lost Dogs, Bill Cameron's other fine novels. Although not strictly necessary, I recommend reading the books in order.)
I will continue to seek out this author's work.
July 2, 2015
I read this book as slowly as I could to savor it and it's quirky cast of characters. I have always thought that Stephen King wrote female characters really well. I never thought any other male writer came close until now. I loved all of these characters, good and bad. None of them were flat or cliche. I loved the use of jumping back and forth in time. Never too far back and always conscious of the present. I even loved simple things like the perfect chapter lengths for reading in chunks and the interesting graphical use of drops of liquid at the start of each chapter. A wonderful book I would highly recommend.
July 15, 2019
A Very confusing story that really did not need to be as confusing as it was.
I still have no idea if there was two females after Staurts affection.
Overall a disappointing mystery book.
I still have no idea if there was two females after Staurts affection.
Overall a disappointing mystery book.
January 11, 2011
"Day One," Bill Cameron's third novel, is big, sprawling, messy and bleak. It's also deep, thoughtful, gorgeously written and full of memorable characters who are as original as they are flawed.
It's far from perfect, given an incredibly complicated flashback structure that probably makes the reader work too hard, but Cameron makes the effort worth it by creating a handful of characters so frail and damaged and vulnerable and yet hopeful that you can't help but hope they'll find their way through the godawful mess they've helped create.
Most memorable are Ellie Spaneker, a tormented housewife from rural Southern Oregon trying to find her salvation in her missing best friend; Eager Gillespie, a teenage dirtbag from the dumpy side of the tracks who secretly harbors the thin hope of helping himself through helping others; and Skin Kadash, the main character, an aging ex-cop with not enough to do and a reluctance to do what's thrust on him. Yet, he finds to his dismay, he hasn't quite detached from the world enough to stop caring — or stop putting his fine cop's brain to work.
Portland, as always in a Cameron novel, makes for an incredibly vivid setting, though Cameron tends to dwell on the parts of town that the Chamber Of Commerce would probably prefer not to spotlight. The Rose City of the author's vision is a near-endless series of downtrodden urban neighborhoods populated by street thugs and tweaker freaks, a dark and gritty moonscape of ruined civilization running like a surgical scar through of the most naturally beautiful cities in the country.
Two reads of "Day One" failed to weave together all the complicated plot threads for me, and the coincidences that brought together many of the principals in the final pages struck me as a bit too contrived. But those are minor quibbles about the magnificently bumpy ride that got me there.
It's far from perfect, given an incredibly complicated flashback structure that probably makes the reader work too hard, but Cameron makes the effort worth it by creating a handful of characters so frail and damaged and vulnerable and yet hopeful that you can't help but hope they'll find their way through the godawful mess they've helped create.
Most memorable are Ellie Spaneker, a tormented housewife from rural Southern Oregon trying to find her salvation in her missing best friend; Eager Gillespie, a teenage dirtbag from the dumpy side of the tracks who secretly harbors the thin hope of helping himself through helping others; and Skin Kadash, the main character, an aging ex-cop with not enough to do and a reluctance to do what's thrust on him. Yet, he finds to his dismay, he hasn't quite detached from the world enough to stop caring — or stop putting his fine cop's brain to work.
Portland, as always in a Cameron novel, makes for an incredibly vivid setting, though Cameron tends to dwell on the parts of town that the Chamber Of Commerce would probably prefer not to spotlight. The Rose City of the author's vision is a near-endless series of downtrodden urban neighborhoods populated by street thugs and tweaker freaks, a dark and gritty moonscape of ruined civilization running like a surgical scar through of the most naturally beautiful cities in the country.
Two reads of "Day One" failed to weave together all the complicated plot threads for me, and the coincidences that brought together many of the principals in the final pages struck me as a bit too contrived. But those are minor quibbles about the magnificently bumpy ride that got me there.
September 25, 2011
Day One is Noir at it’s best: grimy and gritty, down and dirty, dark and desperate. This time, instead of the streets of San Francisco or LaLaLand, you’ll travel the back roads of Southern Oregon—Green Springs Highway, Klamath Falls-Malin Highway and of course, the mother road that connects us all, I-5. It's Oregon Noir.
Day One is a scary book, more so because it's so possible and it's set right here at home. Ellie is caught in an abusive marriage, afraid to leave the small valley where she grew up, only occasionally venturing into Klamath Falls. The lucky ones escape to Southern Oregon University or sometimes even Portland. Kadesh, the ex-cop, is dying of cancer and slowing time down by working in a Portland coffee shop. There's a cast of vicious characters, monsters in true noir fashion, with stories that weave and twine about each other like snakes. There's sin and redemption throughout the work and you won't know which will triumph as you read and read, ignoring conversation, skipping supper and forgetting the light as you read late into the dark.
Bill Cameron was a guest of Ashland Mystery in June 2010. Watch video excerpts from his interview on Ashland Mystery rvtv noir on YouTube, and see photos from the events on Facebook.
--Ashland Mystery
Day One is a scary book, more so because it's so possible and it's set right here at home. Ellie is caught in an abusive marriage, afraid to leave the small valley where she grew up, only occasionally venturing into Klamath Falls. The lucky ones escape to Southern Oregon University or sometimes even Portland. Kadesh, the ex-cop, is dying of cancer and slowing time down by working in a Portland coffee shop. There's a cast of vicious characters, monsters in true noir fashion, with stories that weave and twine about each other like snakes. There's sin and redemption throughout the work and you won't know which will triumph as you read and read, ignoring conversation, skipping supper and forgetting the light as you read late into the dark.
Bill Cameron was a guest of Ashland Mystery in June 2010. Watch video excerpts from his interview on Ashland Mystery rvtv noir on YouTube, and see photos from the events on Facebook.
--Ashland Mystery
August 9, 2012
I’ve come late to the Bill Cameron party. So if you’re already a fan, this will reaffirm what you know. If you haven’t read him, you should. And if you’ve read him but you’re not a fan there’s something wrong with you (though he may not be your cup of tea, which is okay). I started with DAY ONE, and it’s as quirky as the city in which it’s set, Portland—Oregon, that is—as twisted as Portland’s streets, and as dark as a winter’s day there.
It’s also beautifully written, with fully realized characters, even the bad guys. While we don’t get to know them well, we know exactly what drives them. Cameron does a little time-tripping to help with back story, but he plays fair and announces where his time machine is going at the beginning of each chapter. Keep up because the ride is well worth it.
Skin Kadash, Cameron’s series protagonist, here is at a juncture in his career, no longer a cop and unsure of his place in the world. But he’s a compelling and likable guy, and I look forward to seeing how he got to where he is career-wise and as a man.
Rocking good stuff.
It’s also beautifully written, with fully realized characters, even the bad guys. While we don’t get to know them well, we know exactly what drives them. Cameron does a little time-tripping to help with back story, but he plays fair and announces where his time machine is going at the beginning of each chapter. Keep up because the ride is well worth it.
Skin Kadash, Cameron’s series protagonist, here is at a juncture in his career, no longer a cop and unsure of his place in the world. But he’s a compelling and likable guy, and I look forward to seeing how he got to where he is career-wise and as a man.
Rocking good stuff.
November 12, 2010
This is the third in the Skin Kadash series and it was a lot more complicated than the first two (LOST DOG and CHASING SMOKE). In fact, don't even think about reading this if you haven't at least read CHASING SMOKE. That being said, this was an intricate mystery that goes back and forth in time, often getting confusing, but if you keep reading you will ultimately be rewarded with a satisfying ending.
The plot involves a woman fleeing the Klamath Falls area due to an abusive husband who ends up in Portland, and a shooting in the house across the street from Kadash's (a retired Portland homicide detective). From there the story is told in various time periods over the past two years, and you think the parallel stories will never meet but they do all come together in the end. A friend and I agreed that if not for the Oregon settings and landmarks, we might have well bagged the book but were glad we kept reading.
The plot involves a woman fleeing the Klamath Falls area due to an abusive husband who ends up in Portland, and a shooting in the house across the street from Kadash's (a retired Portland homicide detective). From there the story is told in various time periods over the past two years, and you think the parallel stories will never meet but they do all come together in the end. A friend and I agreed that if not for the Oregon settings and landmarks, we might have well bagged the book but were glad we kept reading.
Read
October 30, 2015This is the first book I've read from Cameron, and I was impressed. I'm sort of new to crime fiction, but DAY ONE whetted my appetite for more (I'll be checking out COUNTY LINE next, after I get through a few more books on my to-read list).
My favorite part of the book was its structure. The narrative is broken up into different POVs; it alternates between the past and the hours of "Day One," or the present-day arc of the story. As with any good mystery, you have to pay attention; near the end, I was paging back to previous chapters a lot, piecing together clues I'd missed before. I enjoyed the pacing and the way all the story lines collided. The Portland locations were also great, though I'm definitely biased because it's where I live. Cameron's language is impressive: descriptive without being showy, with lots of clever dialogue.
Some of the woman-in-peril stuff was not my cup of tea, but overall I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from this author.
My favorite part of the book was its structure. The narrative is broken up into different POVs; it alternates between the past and the hours of "Day One," or the present-day arc of the story. As with any good mystery, you have to pay attention; near the end, I was paging back to previous chapters a lot, piecing together clues I'd missed before. I enjoyed the pacing and the way all the story lines collided. The Portland locations were also great, though I'm definitely biased because it's where I live. Cameron's language is impressive: descriptive without being showy, with lots of clever dialogue.
Some of the woman-in-peril stuff was not my cup of tea, but overall I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from this author.
April 9, 2011
In author Bill Cameron's first two books (the ones I read anyway - Lost Dog and Chasing Smoke), he does an excellent job of placing his characters; in Day One, Cameron really finds his voice and hits his stride. I loved the way the story goes back and forth between a day in the life of ... and then taking the reader back to piece together some characters who all come together for one final showdown. There was a bit of a stretch with one guy making his way to the final scene but ... oh well. Sometimes people die even when you're cheering them on - such is life. Homicide detective Skin Kadash again is on the scene, not necessarily in the starring role.
An excellent read, one that you won't want to put down. Indeed I stayed up way too late to get to that final page.
An excellent read, one that you won't want to put down. Indeed I stayed up way too late to get to that final page.
July 5, 2010
This book was okay. I love books that take place in Portland because it feels so immediate. However, I didn't like his descriptions of "Givern Valley." It seems like a sketch of the Langell Valley near Klamath Falls. It doesn't seem like he actually visited the area because he talks about people growing corn. Wouldn't happen there, the climate is all wrong and so is the water situation. It's all cattle and potatoes.
It was okay otherwise. He could have played up the water conflict in the valley to have some parts of the story to make some of the motives of the characters more clear.
It was okay otherwise. He could have played up the water conflict in the valley to have some parts of the story to make some of the motives of the characters more clear.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2011
I pre-ordered this book and counted the days until it was released because of all the positive reviews from my twitter pals. They did not exaggerate; Day One is a brilliantly written story about a group of people whose lives intersect on – yep, you guessed it, Day One. But I promise you, you’ll never see the rest of Bill’s plot twists coming. Bill's richly-drawn characters and well-crafted plot made this book impossible to put down.
December 18, 2012
Fantastic book! Kept me guessing the whole way through and just when I thought I figured things out I was proven wrong again. An intense read. The flashbacks in time help to build the story one answer at a time and add more questions that kept me wanting to read faster. Short chapters and a rapid pace made the story race to a completely unexpected conclusion. I will be reading all that this author has to offer. Highly recommend.
January 2, 2011
Great book, gritty and gray. Set in Portland, Oregon. 379 pages
March 8, 2012
I loved this book. I loved how the story was always going back and forth between different characters. It kept it interesting and kept me from putting the book down. The way the chapters jump back and forth through time was a bit confusing and took a while to get used to though. Overall it was great though!
July 23, 2011
UGH! I found this book confusing. Each chapter flips from past to present so I constantly had to go back to see where I was. Make sure you read this book when you have some time to devote to it. It requires your full attention.
April 10, 2012
I wanted to like this one, since it's set in Oregon, by an Oregon author. I couldn't get into it and found it hard to follow. I've heard that his other books, County Line in particular, are much better and might give them a try.
July 14, 2010
Bill Cameron is one to watch. Well developed plot and characters. He keeps you guessing and has style. "Momento" style.
August 16, 2011
Good mystery! Wish I could find the earlier books with Skin but they seem to be hard to come across!
January 14, 2022
Decent crime novel. Some of the plot devices (shifting storylines across time) wear thin after a while.
September 11, 2016
Liked it. Good read.
March 22, 2016
I had a hard time with the time changing every chapter. It was hard to pick up, even though I was enjoying the premise of the story.
March 28, 2017
This book was amazing. Kept me on my toes, I was guessing until the end. Glad it didn't use too many adjectives, I hate when authors over describe scenes/characters distracting you from the story. Definitely recommend. Will be looking for more books to read from the author.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews