Carl Wilcox joins forces with his new wife Hazel to investigate a bizarre mystery after they stumble upon a corpse on the bluff overlooking their favorite fishing spot, in an entertaining mystery set in the Depression-era northern plains.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
"Changes on the St. Croix, when you're paddling with a slow current, are so gradual you seem at times to be motionless." So proclaims Carl Wilcox, protagonist of this deceptively simple new novel by Adams (winner of a Shamus for The Man Who Was Taller than God), as he canoes down the river. "As you round a long bend, an entirely fresh view slowly opens up." Just so, the narrative of Adams's solid whodunit allows the meandering course of its Depression-era sleuth to slowly unfurl unexpected plot twists. A drifter and sign painter, Carl is honeymooning in Minnesota with his new wife, Hazel (the librarian he courted in 1998's No Badge, No Gun), when they are confronted by the deaths of two young men: a talented musician whose body the couple finds after it falls from a cliff; and a failed farmer whose apparent suicide is questioned by his wealthy, loving grandfather. Knowing Carl's reputation as a detective, the local mayor offers him a few dollars to snoop around. Then the grieving grandfather ups the ante to $2000Aa serious nest egg, given the general shortage of work and cash. So Carl and Hazel begin paddling along, talking with anyone and everyone, until they arrive at a solution to the problems at hand. Although Wilcox's bed-hopping has been slowed down by marriage, sex still plays an active role in the series. The dead musician was one of many young men who pursued a sleek blonde named Kat BaconAand Carmen Pryke, the wife of the man who killed himself, is another hot number. Period details about cars, clothes, food and social customs are, as usual, so sharp that the rambling narration and the novel's less-than-surprising conclusions don't spoil the pleasure. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Series hero Carl Wilcox and new wife Hazel tackle a murder mystery together after they discover a body near their fishing spot. A dependable, nicely plotted, Depression-era historical.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great light reading,
By read2day (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lead, So I Can Follow (Hardcover)
This is the first Harold Adams book that I've read. The mystery is set on the northern plains during the Great Depression. Carl Wilcox and his new bride are honeymooning when they hear a gunshot and scream. They stay and solve the mystery. I enjoyed the book a lot and recommend it as light summer reading. I plan to read some of his other books as well.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lead so I can follow,
By Carole F. Howard (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lead, So I Can Follow (Carl Wilcox Mysteries) (Paperback)
As a fan of the Carl Wilcox series and having read all the previous novels, the author has done his readership damage by marrying Carl off! Part of the glamor of this series has been the sort of sexiness of a well-meaning, intelligent bachelor who solves murders in very interesting and creative ways in an era before today's technology. Carl has shown his interest in women through out the series and that idea of romance draws the reader in. As a female, his allure as a bachelor detective took me in -- always wondering about whether there would be a conquest or not. For me, the best Harold Adams can do is write out Hazel, Carl's wife, in some calamity that Carl can deal with and solve!
1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Certainly not top-grade mystery writing,
By
This review is from: Lead, So I Can Follow (Hardcover)
I was not only disappointed by this book, but irritated by the style of writing which seemed to be a combination of the poor sentence structure of a high school freshman to the dated expressions of a senior citizen. You gain little insight to the personality of the main character or his bride. The plot is too pat; town folk interviewed are oh so eager to talk about characters in suspicion, and the police are too relieved to hand the murder investigation over to complete strangers. The only saving grace are physical descriptions of the local area, and the beauty of the river area where the characters camp and canoe. Once I like a book and discover there are others in a series with the same character, I'm ready to read the rest. I will certainly pass on this one.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
