Known Dead [Hardcover]

Donald Harstad (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 20, 1999

With a singular voice, a spellbinding insider perspective on small-town heartland crime-solving, and a cast of characters straight out of a Coen brothers movie, Known Dead solidifies Donald Harstad's growing reputation as the finest new voice in crime fiction.

No one knows the underbelly of Nation County, Iowa, better than Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman. But with thirteen hundred-odd miles of hills and curves to negotiate in the county's 750-square-mile border, there's only so much territory he can cover in an eight-hour shift. Time passes slowly riding alone, but when lives are measured in seconds and backup could be hours away, one false move can get a cop killed.

In Known Dead, Carl hits the ground running when he hears the call sign "officer needs assistance." As the blistering summer sun beats down on him, Carl steps into the middle of a war zone in an isolated and densely wooded patch of land. With two known dead and sixty-seven empty shell casings from any number of high-powered weapons, Carl has no clue about why or where the guns are pointing. Sheriff Lamar Ridgeway and DCI agent Hester Gorse are on their way, but Carl knows he's riding point; and for the life of him, he can't separate the killers from the kill.

Filled with deadpan humor and brilliant police procedural narrative, Known Dead could only have been written by a man who's been in a heartland patrol car himself.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Donald Harstad was an Iowa deputy sheriff for 26 years, and only retired so that he could pursue his passion for writing. His first book was a well-received police mystery, Eleven Days. The same solid foundation of experience anchors Harstad's second mystery about Iowa deputy sheriff Carl Houseman, a sharp and likable 50-year-old with weight and blood pressure problems and strong opinions on every aspect of policing.

Known Dead begins with the murder of a state narcotics agent killed on Houseman's Nation County turf while staking out a marijuana patch. Blasts of gunfire from a band of mysterious shooters take out the agent and one local smalltime dealer. Then, while various federal and state agencies wrestle for control of the case, two more Nation County cops are shot down at the farm of a local extremist with links to a large militant group. As the resourceful Houseman tries to connect the shootings and keep some of the investigation in his own office, we learn all sorts of information about guns, bullets, trajectories, stakeouts, interagency rivalries, and the eating habits of cops of all kinds--taken no doubt from the author's lively memory and imagination. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly

There's a solid core of experience and acquired wisdom in this second mystery (after the well-received Eleven Days) from Harstad, a 26-year veteran of the Clayton County Sheriff's Department in northeastern Iowa. There are also some shortcomings, most notably narrative padding and a tendency toward cuteness. Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman is a sharp, likable 50-year-old Iowan with weight and blood-pressure problems (which get mentioned too often), and strong opinions on every aspect of policingAincluding a hatred for the special prayer called "The Lord Is My Shepherd, He Rides in My Patrol Car" that is recited at cop funerals. Readers first encounter the prayer at the services for an Iowa narcotics agent killed on Houseman's Nation County turf while staking out a marijuana patch in a state park. Blasts of gunfire from mysterious shooters take out the agent and a smalltime dealer. While various federal and state agencies wrestle for control of the case and Harstad overwhelms readers with reams of ballistic evidence, two more Nation County cops are shot down at the farm of a local extremist with links to a large militant group. Between seemingly endless sessions of drinking coffeeAdescribed sip-by-sipAand eating everything from doughnuts to fat-free wieners, Houseman tries to connect the shootings and keep some of the glory for his own office, even as the author provides welcome information on how surveillance helicopters can tell the good guys from the bad guys in the dark (the good guys wear little chemical badges that give off heat). Overall, the novel's a good one and Houseman's an appealing hero, but both book and cop carry excess fat. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (July 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385488955
• ISBN-13: 978-0385488952
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,507,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harstad the Best At What He Does, June 8, 2000

By 

Jason Birkby - See all my reviews

This review is from: Known Dead: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

You will be hard pressed to find a better police procedural novelist then Donald Harstad. With only his second novel he shows that he can write in a great narrative voice able of invoking all ranges of emotions in a reader. With his main character Carl Houseman, Harstad takes the reader on the exact same rollercoster his likeable sheriff is on.

The storyline for "Known Dead" revolves around the killing of a DEA agent who was investgating a marijjuna field in an Iowa state park. Also killed is a lowly local drug dealer. The killings look like an ambush and Houseman starts to investigate the drug angle, only to find more than he bargined for. The tale leads down the road of right wing milita groups and this is were Harstad's use of narative makes the reader almost parnoid.

Harstad brings back great characters from "Eleven Days" such as Hester, Sally and Lamar, and adds the new character FBI agent Volont who I hope will appear in more novels in the future. Harstad does get a little more technical in this one and cuts down on the gore from "Eleven Days" Still it is a quick interesting read that trully makes you wonder about America's Heartland.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A writer to watch: humorous and challenging, October 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Known Dead (Hardcover)

Someone gave me two mysteries, one by Sharon McCrumb (ugh) and this one by Don Harstad (superb). His work needs a little smoothing (this is only his second book), but "Known Dead" is one of the best stories I've read this year. His self-deprecating hero matches his humorous approach to murder. Some parts are so clever (I won't give them away) you may want to cheer.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harstad Hits Another One Out of the Park!, July 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Known Dead (Hardcover)

How often does it happen that a major-league rookie hits two out of the park his first two at- bats? Not very darn often! But Harstad has managed to do just that with his second hang-on- for-your-life ride through the hills of Nation County. And he really knows how to drive!

As a resident of Maitland in Nation County, Iowa (really!), on the banks of the mighty Sparrow River, it was more than just fun to see where he was taking us. It was a trip into the mind of one entertaining and lay-it-on-the-line-when-you-have-to cop.

"Eleven Days" woke us up to Don Harstad's prowess as a wordsmith. I'll be surprised if you don't enjoy "Known Dead" with your morning donuts and coffee! In fact, when my wife and I finished reading it (together) I leaned back and thought about how nice a cigarette would taste just then.

Just one fine-toothed-comb comment for the folks at Doubleday. Make sure you know when the sun rises and sets in the summer in Iowa. Us rural folks KNOW these things!