Eleven Days: A Novel of the Heartland [Hardcover]

Donald Harstad (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1998

With James Patterson's feel for narrative drive combined with Joseph Wambaugh's ability to cut to the quick of police procedure, Donald Harstad is a fresh new voice in crime fiction.  And with twenty-six years of experience as a deputy sheriff in a rural Iowa town, Harstad knows whereof he speaks.  Inspired by actual events, Eleven Days takes readers on a gripping and unforgettable journey inside a heartland community and unveils its darkest secrets.

Iowa highway patrolman and deputy sheriff Carl Houseman is comfortable with his night-shift routine of speeding tickets and slow crawls through Nation County's two-stoplight towns.  This is not to say that Nation County's Sheriff's Department--fueled by doughnuts, countless pots of coffee, and down-home disregard for the bizarre--hasn't had its trials and tribulations.  But Houseman is in for the time of his life when a quiet weekend evening turns into eleven sleepless days after a 911 call from a terrified woman hits his dispatcher's office.

Upon arrival at the crime scene--a deserted farmhouse that even Hitchcock wouldn't be able to duplicate--Houseman finds the woman gone and the owner slaughtered and mutilated.  Down the lane, another farmhouse contains the bodies of four more victims, tortured before their deaths and all bearing the markings of a Satanic sacrifice.  As the investigation gathers momentum, the dirty little secrets underneath the placid surface of the quaint Iowa community are revealed, and Houseman ends up fighting for his life against a force of unimaginable horror.

Houseman's first-person narrative--terse, drawling, and unexpectedly funny--provides an irresistible invitation to a wild ride in the passenger seat of his patrol car.  Buckle up.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Reflecting 26 years as a deputy sheriff in northeastern Iowa, Donald Harstad's first book, a topnotch thriller about an Iowa deputy sheriff named Carl Houseman, is full of convincing details of everyday police work and is told in such a droll, natural voice that you'll swear you've met both author and hero. "When I got home, Sue was a little angry," Houseman says about his wife. "I'd neglected to leave her a note about the meeting. Consequently, supper had turned out to be a problem. She'd taken care of it by making a taco-type soup, so it was still warm when I got there. She'd eaten." In other hands, the story (a series of ritual murders, a Satanic cult, the possible involvement of a local clergyman) might seem over the top. But Harstad's dead-on, no-nonsense manner makes it all very convincing--and extremely readable. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly

The first half of Harstad's good-natured debut may read like Fargo meets Dragnet, but this police procedural turns downright explosive once deputy sheriff Carl Houseman gets to the heart of the strange murders that are tearing apart his small Iowa farming town. The action begins when a 911 call leads Houseman to the site of a ritual murder with multiple victims and no witnesses left in sight; further evidence reveals that an infant may have been sacrificed and that other victims will follow. The first round of police work leads Houseman and his colleagues to the members of a devilish cult, but the serial killer remains at large until Houseman comes to suspect the town pastor and his wife. What follows is an intriguing, suspenseful showdown at a local church. Harstad's deceptively sparse style is full of hard-boiled drollery, even when mundane details threaten to crowd the plot. If the labyrinthine network of Satanic cult members gets a bit too involved, the descriptions of the police work rival Wambaugh's best, and the action scenes maintain a precision that keeps the tension high. After 26 years' police work in northeastern Iowa, Harstad seems poised for a successful second career.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; First Edition edition (June 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385488947
• ISBN-13: 978-0385488945
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,137,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tantalizing, who-dun-it, grisly yet mysterious, September 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Eleven Days (Mass Market Paperback)

I found this book to be one of the most intriguing novels I have read in a long time. As one who loves mysteries, I feel that Harstad has put Iowa on the map. I am a resident of the area of which he writes, and I found myself trying to figure just who was who in this book of all the people I know in the area. Thank goodness all of the people in this book are fictitious--at least I hope they are. Harstad's methodology in leading the reader to the real murderer is one of interest because nothing that exciting ever happens around here. I am looking forward to the movie.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eleven Days Goes By In A Minute!, February 12, 2003

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eleven Days (Mass Market Paperback)

This roller coaster of a book builds tension into an appallingly great climax. If this is Mr. Harstad's debut book, I can't wait to get the next one.

Carl Houseman is the laid back, politically aware sheriff of a small midwestern town. A ritualistic murder takes place with overtones of Satanism. Then another farm family is similarly attacked. The danger escalates, the list of suspects grows, and the undermanned Sheriff's department is stretched to the breaking point.

Carl is a likeable guy with a not too happy marriage that you sense is mainly due to himself. He's a great friend, but his detachment is tough on close emotional bonds. The author obviously has insider knowledge of police departments, the politics, mechanics, and organization. I would have liked a glossary for all the 10-11's, 10-61's that peppers the dialogue.

"Eleven Days" has a high gruesome level, which may put off some readers. However, most will be so totally absorbed in the accelerating frenzy of events, they will accept the violence. Great read!
-sweetmolly-Amazon[.com] Reviewer

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars America's Heartland, January 2, 2001

By 

booknblueslady (Woodland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eleven Days (Mass Market Paperback)

Something creepy is happening in America's heartland. 911 operators in Maitland, Iowa receive a call about a mass murder at an outlying farmhouse. when arriving there Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman finds a grisly murder scene. One day later they uncover a mass murder at another farm. Both of these scenes have Satanic overtones. Definitely something you wouldn't expect to find in the heart of America.

Donald Harstad in his novel Eleven Days creates an every man character with Carl Houseman, with his understated ways and tongue in cheek humor. The environment of the station house and the various people who populate the story are both interesting and ordinary. Many of us know a Sally who wants more from life and Hester who constantly has to prove herself to the guy's club.

The mystery itself is riveting and grisly. It leads the reader along at a fast pace until the final conclusion. For those who appreciate the genre it is an easy sell. Others may feel the gory details are excessive. Some readers may disprove of the "ordinary" characters and style of the author. To me this is part of the appeal of the book . I first read Known Dead by the author and wanted to read other books by Mr. Harstad and am glad that I did.