Customer Reviews

Breaking Blue

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just discovered 'Timothy Egan'. That he has done extensive research is obvious. I first read "Lasso the Wind", a history lesson of the Pacific Northwest. I grew up here and there is much that I had never even heard of, I admit I am hooked. I will ALWAYS read anything I can find by Mr. Egan. When finishing "Lasso the Wind" I immediately went looking for anything else I could find by Mr. Egan. I found "Breaking Blue". It is fascinating! What one live sheriff did for a murdered sheriff, a police officer and detective did to a sheriff, and how the Spokane Police Chief handled it . . . It is a compelling read. You won't be disappointed but you will probably be astounded. People are the same all over. If you checked out Seattle, Chicago, New York etc. you will most certainly find "The good, the bad and the ugly". If you like Mysteries you will like this, if you like True Crime you will like this. If you just plain enjoy good reading, you will like this. I don't see how you could go wrong with Mr. Timothy Egan.

Egan goes beyond the typical "true crime" formula to explore a hidden history and sub-culture. His depictions of the regional character resonated with me (a former, recent, Spokanite and Washingtonian born and bred). As one reviewer pointed out, the corruption Egan plunges the reader into is still a powerful force in the region today -- an ugly undercurrent that, in order to remain there, most find necessary to turn a blind eye to. "Breaking Blue" manages to weave several complex elements into a highly readable story without condescending to, or losing, the reader. "The Good Rain" is another masterful study of the Northwest Egan fans may want to read.

In addition to being a real-life investigative crime solving book, Eagan's descriptive writing in "Breaking Blue" touched upon many areas that brought the people of the 1930s and this part of the country to life. The natural beauty of the inland Pacific Northwest in the setting of the Great Depression. Hobos, gambling, (...), saloons, opium dens, Nez Perce tribe and police corruption. This work provides a historical glimpse, within its' investigation, which ultimately led to success. Tony Bamonte, A County Sheriff in Pen Oreille County in eastern Washington state, turned his 500 page Master's Thesis into a murder-case solver.

Clyde Ralstin lived a life in the West in some fashion of the Wild Wild West. After he committed the murder, he was fingered out by a fellow detective in the police department. The detective was ordered by his superiors to stop the investigation and be quiet. At the same time, Ralstin left town. Files on both men "disappeared." But many statements and investigations were all uncovered by Bamonte. Living out his final years in Montana, Ralstin was aware of the tightening noose around his neck for what he did 54 years before. The stress and anxiety he experienced, which ultimately help end his life, was the only small amount of justice he received.

Some people close to Ralstin actually accused Bamonte of causing trouble and being the problem. Such is sometimes the twisted loyalty of the blue line, when a member commits wrong doing, even the murder of a fellow police officer. Ralstin stated, "the whole department was crooked back then. Why are they coming after me?"

Bamonte submitted his Master's thesis to his professor at Gonzaga University with trepidation. Is this 500 page piece of work going to be scoffed at, rejected, or laughed at? His professor said it was the most intriguing thesis he'd ever encountered. After some media attention over this 54 year-old local murder case, some turned the tables on Bamonte. During Bamonte's re-election campaign in 1990, the Spokane police chief held 3 press conferences publicly criticizing Bamonte. Actions like this are unheard of. Bamonte lost the election. Why did the the Spokane police chief do this? Because Bamonte was investigating a similar murder in his jurisdiction.

After Clyde Ralstin died 1989, the murder case was closed.

A terrific story that encompasses the mood and flavor of the setting and climate. I often felt as though I was right in the middle of town or in the same room with the characters as the story unfolds. Well written with reference to various time frames over a span of so many years. As I read, I kept wondering if the main characters research was going to be availble as a story in itself. I'll let you find out for yourself. I've never been to the area or even the state itself but after this read and Snow Falling on Cedars, I may be hooked enough by the authors descriptions to travel out sometime.
A great read that will touch your emotions.

One of my best recent reads. Part crime story, part historical and cultural biography, and part present-day human drama. All parts are addressed evenly. Great for anyone interested in the sometimes strange land of Eastern Washington and Spokane's Wild West past.

I liked the book when I was done, but all along the way I found myself looking at how far I had read to see when I'd be finished. The story tried to develop a sence of history that would lead the reader to feel some level of attachment to the conditions the characters lived their lives, but most were summarily developed and I felt no attachment to anyone - even the victim's family. During the last one-third of the book the Sheriff was under attack for digging up an unsolved murder and never does the victim's family weigh in to justify his effort. The disollution of the Sheriff's marriage was a distraction to the story and the way Egan tried to develop his personal life left me wondering why the investigation was allowed to consume his life. Oh yea, he had an affair by the way. So what. I guess he solved the case, but not really. My last point is more bothering than the thin story line: someone should really have proofread the text. Spelling mistakes and words that were obviously corrected by the word-processor left me wondering if Egan didn't really care too much about the final product.

One of the best true crime books I've read. A truly haunting story.

Egan presents the story of a backwoods sheriff in eastern Washington in the late 1980s who solves a murder that occurred 50 years prior during the Great Depression.

This is a gripping book full of true life drama and suspense. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.

This book is a very well written and an easy read, I was born and graduated highschool, in Spokane,(then I moved on).
I had spent time in all the areas mentioned in this book, but I still learned alot of good history about the Spokane area reading this book.
The book perked my interest and even inspired me to look up family tree information, from the time frame of the book. I had an Uncle that hung out at Mothers Kitchen during those times. I wish he was alive now, I would ask him a lot of questions..... Very Interesting.

Breaking Blue was especially interesting to me, probably mainly because I am from the Inland Empire and because I'm now 87 and lived in the era in which the book takes place. The fraudulant practices that were so blatantly displayed by author Timothy Eden were well known to my parents at the time. Those from Spokane and vicinity will really enjoy knowing how bad the police behaved during a period when the whole country was suffering from the depression. How good it was to find that a detective thirty years later opened the case and solved a crime of murder, although the unusual circumstances prevented prosecution.

Mr. Egan has become my favorite non-fiction writer. I've reread The Good Rain several times, and read The Worst Hard Time as soon as it became available in paper back. I live in the Pacific Northwest and have come to appreciate the history that surrounds me. Mr. Egan's hero, Sheriff Bamonte, faced Herculean obstacles, and Mr. Egan presented it beautifully in Breaking Blue. After I finished reading Breaking Blue, I quickly mailed the book to my son who graduated from Gonzaga in 2005 and recommended that he read it since the story takes place in the Spokane area. The Spokane River which runs through downtown Spokane has a new meaning for me now!