Customer Reviews

Lone Creek: A Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A great book in a setting and with plot unlike anything McMahon has written before with an attention to detail that makes the book come alive. (Few people know that when on a motorcycle your knuckles get cold very fast or that Timothy is a type of grass used to make hay.) I hope for many more books from McMahon set in the "Big Sky Country".

Neil McMahon, author of the Dr. Carroll Monks series, has established a reputation as a competent if under-appreciated journeyman writer. His latest novel meets and exceeds any and all expectations raised by his previous work.

LONE CREEK is a world removed from the Monks books, trading the hospital environs of San Francisco for McMahon's home turf of Montana, and Monks's surgical scrubs for the carpentry tools of one Hugh Davoren. I suspect that McMahon has much more in common with Davoren than he does with Monks --- McMahon lives in Montana and, like Davoren, is a carpenter --- and the apparent similarities between the two men infuses LONE CREEK with a reality and an immediacy that is a rarity in works of fiction.

The book begins with Davoren doing carpentry work for Wesley Balcomb, the new owner of the Pettyjohn Ranch near Helena, Montana. The ranch holds a mixed bag of memories for Davoren that is all but swept away when he makes a grisly if accidental discovery on the ranch property while working. He is then fired and arrested on the same day, in what appears to be a setup.

Davoren's job termination is the least of his worries, though, as it quickly becomes clear that Balcomb isn't satisfied with simply ruining him --- Balcomb wants him dead. Davoren's allies are few, but one --- Madbird, an Indian carpenter who easily walks away with the book --- helps Davoren to even the odds, despite being outnumbered by lawyers, guns and money. Ultimately, however, as Davoren slowly uncovers the secrets of Balcomb and the Pettyjohn ranch, he inadvertently unleashes a maelstrom of explosive violence that can only end one way.

As compelling as Davoren and Madbird are, the real protagonist of LONE CREEK is Montana itself, brought to vivid, thundering life by McMahon's prose. Writers, both veteran and fledgling, will often hold up --- and rightfully so --- the opening paragraph of THE LAST GOOD KISS by James Crumley as an example of all that good writing should be. I suspect that the first page of LONE CREEK will be held in similar high esteem. Read it, and then try to put the book down, even for a few minutes. The momentum of its words sweeps you along, as Davoren's first-person account slices in and out of his life, past and present, and we learn not only of his rough edges but also how they got there.

LONE CREEK is most assuredly a keeper --- as intriguing a work of fiction as you'll read all year.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

The only negative thing about Lone Creek is that it ended.

Every once in a while I find a book I enjoy so much that I am saddened when it is finished.

I have ordered his other four books as well as a couple more copies of Lone Creek to give to friends.

Great job Neil.

I thought I had already read "Lone Creek" and bypassed it a few times before finally picking it up to make sure. I am so glad that I did. I had not read it before but now have and plan to keep a copy for my permanent library.

This was an amazing book. The writing was tight; superb characterization; wonderful descriptive passages about the beautiful state of Montana. I enjoyed the story and especially liked Hugh Davoren, the not so lucky ex-journalist/carpenter and his best friend who guides him and keeps him out of trouble, Robert "Madbird" Mag-dah-kee.

I have read McMahon's other series of books starring Dr. Carroll Monks. They were just okay. It's almost as if McMahon is now writing the book he was always meant to write because everything sure seems to work in this one. I am excited to see that there is a second book out in the series Dead Silver; I just ordered it.

If you like the books of Kent Meyers, C.J. Box, Craig Johnson, or Clinton McKinzie, I think you will like this series of McMahon's. In my opinion, his writing is as good or better than any of them.

Former journalist Hugh Davoren figures he has come full circle as he works construction near his hometown of Helena, Montana. Hugh plans to keep out of trouble by just doing his day job as a laborer at the renovation of the colossal old Pettyjohn Ranch though the place has bad memories for him, bought by affluent Easterner, Wesley Balcomb and his wife Laurie.

However, Laurie is fascinated by his scar on his face, which he says is nothing more than a drunken surgeon's reminder that medicine and alcohol don't mix even if the remains seem interesting. However, Davoren's efforts to stay clean fail when he finds two murdered thoroughbreds dumped in the reconstruction garbage heap. Instead of praise for doing his job, he is tossed in jail as the East Coast businessman wants him out of the way though Davoren cannot think of any motive unless the newcomer is dealing in illegal trafficking. With the help of his only on-site friend, Blackfoot Viet Nam veteran "Madbird", he makes inquires even as adversaries on both sides of the law want him dead with the most dangerous being hired killer John Doe.

LONE CREEK is a fabulous thriller starring an individual trying to stay out of trouble, but becomes a magnet for danger though he does not know why. Hugh is a wonderful protagonist as for the most part he avoids people especially his employer's wife yet in spite of his efforts people come after him, literally trying to kill him. Readers will follow Davoren's efforts to survive an ordeal he does not understand in one Big Sky sitting.

Harriet Klausner

This is a really great mystery/thriller. Set in Montana, the imagery is wonderful, the characters interesting and believable, and the story a page-ripper. Excellent for at the lake or in front of a roaring fire reading. Or any other time!

LONE CREEK is a fun read and a fast trip to areas around Helena, Montana. Beautifully done descriptions kept me experiencing where we were as Hugh Davoren bulldozed his way around trying to get himself out of trouble but digging his way further in. I look forward to other books in the Hugh Davoren series.

Hugh Davoren is what in most people eyes would seem to be your average guy. He's a day laborer and carpenter for a local Helena, Montana construction firm, currently working on renovatiing an old ranch homestead south of the city.

One afternoon, while driving a load of scrap material to the ranche's dump, he has a chance encounter with the new ranch owner's wife. It's cordial, but out of character. He's never actually met her and feels she has gone out of her way to avoid him. Her resemblance to a girl he once knew brings back haunting memories of a summer he spent working the same ranch-and the two shadowy deaths that took place there long ago.

At the dumpsite, while dumping the material from his truck, he notices a horse hoof protruding from a pile of garbage. Upon investigating further, he finds not one but two horses that have been murdered, grossly mutilated and surreptitiously hidden. Davoren, a native Montanan and former investigative columnist for a California newspaper with a love for horses, decides to poke around the ranch to see if he can figure out what caused the questionable deaths of the two equines.

Before he asks his first questions, he is confronted by the ranch foreman and held at gunpoint by drug addict youngest son of the ranch's former owner Kirk Pettyjohn. Then the ranch's new owner, a sly Easterner, Wesley Balcomb comes to interrogate him.

From the moment Balcomb arrives, Davoren's life is thrown into a tailspin from which he may not recover. He is arrested on trumped-up charges, jailed, freed, and terrorized by Balcomb's henchman to the breaking point. With the help of Madbird, a Native American Blackfoot, Davoren evades Balcomb's ever-tightening net and unravels the mystery around the dead horses.

The Big Sky country of Montana is so perfect for Lone Creek that you find yourself visualizing every descriptive scene the McMahon writes. This is a terrific story, full of likable characters, vivid personalities, and just enough intrigue to keep those pages turning.

Armchair Interviews says: Going out West for a summer excursion? Take this one with, you will not be sorry.

Never read anything from this author before, but I have to say I liked the style of this book. Main character drew you in and you just liked the guy, felt his pain and were cheering for him in the end. Interesting characters, a little suspense and a little romance.

Hugh Davoren's life went from bad to worse throughout most of this book. I was exhausted trying to keep the faith with him all the way. Hugh finds two mutilated horses badly buried out in nowhere, and the the bad luck begins. If he didnt have any bad luck, he would have no luck at all.

Fascinating study of man's will to keep his sanity and ethical standards. You want to slap him upside the head when he falls for the boss's wife. I saw that coming waaaay before he did.

This was a book of Hugh's baptism by fire. Without his friend Madbird, he would have been a total disaster. People like Balcomb and Kirk needed killin' and you sense Hugh's frustration at trying to live up to his own morals. Character descriptions were very interesting.

The author's descriptions of everything were so poignant and wistful. My first read of this author. Not my last.