Customer Reviews

Things In Ditches

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Perhaps it is the convincingly claustrophobic vision of Minnesota in the winter. Maybe, it has to do with the unselfconsciously quirky characters and their convincingly drawn eccentric reasoning and personalities.

Also, it does not hurt to find a mistery plot as unconcerned about mysteries in the conventional sense as this. In this novel the true mistery lies in trying to follow the minds of its protagonists.

So why is it that the movie "Fargo" keeps insinuating itself as this book grabs a hold of this reader (and I mean that as a supreme praise!)? I read many novels in the hopes of occassionally finding one as terrific as this author's debut work. A truly rewarding read!

Jimmy Olsen's novel, Things In Ditches, is a great book. Follow Dutch as he tries to figure out what to do after killing his former lover!

Olsen takes us on an adventure as Dutch tries to deal with the consequences of his actions, while being chased by the law and others. I was on the edge of my seat as I turned the pages wondering how it would turn out in the end! I definitely recommend this one!

Want to feel the chill of a Minnesota blizzard without leaving your cozy abode? Want to see what Midwestern characters do when their quiet lives suddenly become mixed up and out of control? Want plot twists that make it impossible to guess the end?

Then read Things in Ditches as soon as you possibly can.

Jimmy Olsen's debut boasts quality story telling in a tone that is decidely northwoods. And you'll read the last page eager to get your hands on anything and everything this talented writer has to offer.

Dutch, Charlie the cop and Walleye will stick in your mind and make you want to visit Willow River to see how the town survived Minnesota-style murder and mayhem.

THINGS IN DITCHES starts with the murder of Vicky Johnson, her body discovered by Walleye Wertz, a mentally-challenged man out collecting cans and other valuables jettisoned by passing cars. Jimmy Olsen turns the traditional mystery on its head in that we know who killed Vicky at the beginning. The setting of the novel is Willow River, Minnesota, and the supposed killer is the local butcher, Dutch Cleland. He's such a nice guy that we can't believe he choked Vicky to death. But Cleland admits that he did it. At first he thinks about killing himself, but rejects the idea. He doesn't want to traumatize his wife, Jean, any more than she's already been by his long past affair with Vicky. He decides to head north to his cabin instead. Oh yeah, there's a snow storm coming.
The novel includes about the best description of a snowstorm I've read. Cars are submerged by snowplows; there's a whiteout; the temperature plummets below zero after the snow; there's a brutal windchill. And some of the characters actually like it that way.
Olsen also does a bang-up job with characterization. My favorite is the town Chief of Police, Charlie Benson, who gets less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. Charlie and his dispatcher, Marlene, have a kind of school marm, remedial student relationship. Charlie usually does what she tells him to do.
There are a few things that bother me about the book. The constant interruptions in the storyline are annoying. Olsen decides he better introduce us to Vicky. He takes us on a scuba diving vacation in Honduras. This flashback goes on and on and on. Meanwhile we're wondering what's happening with Dutch and Vicky's two ex-husbands, one of them a homicidal maniac, who are after him. Several chapters later Olson flashes back again, this time to show us why Dutch and Vicky broke up. Instead we're wondering what he saw in her in the first place. Later on he interrupts the story yet again, from the perspective of a timberwolf, right in the middle of a shootout. The wolf scene makes sense later, but I think it's really there to show off Olson's descriptive flair.
That said, the merits far outweigh the drawbacks. I think the selling point in any novel is whether or not you'd recommend it to a friend. I'd have to say I certainly would. And I love that title!

Talk about impressed, came across the novel looking for something with a local flavor and wow did I find it. It's great storytelling with engaging characters and I read it in a day. I couldn't stop; the eloquence of the scenery, the dialogue and the descriptions of relatively simple items, like a tricycle are great. You have a woman dead in a ditch with a snake in her mouth, the great frozen north of MN and everything it conjures up. For someone living in that state, it's picture of winter captured in text, just wonderful.

Keep an eye out for this author and let's hope he gives us more.

Jimmy Olson's "Things in Ditches" brings to life a small town cast of everyday folks as they deal with a situation that goes from bad to worse (and that includes the weather). It is fast and funny and as bitingly real as the Minnesota winter. I loved it.
Tony Canzoneri, author of Cold Trail

There are a lot of very interesting things in ditches around the fictitious town of Willow River, Minnesota ("90 miles from St. Cloud.") In this debut "murder mystery novel," Jimmy Olsen takes the reader on a wild, cleverly plotted, tour and introduces us to wonderfully quirky characters along the way.

Here are some jewels: After an early season blizzard, the Town Deputy reports in: "Guy from Iowa out on 11 last night. Heading to Fargo. Slides off the road, sits in his car until it runs out of gas, then starts walking. After God only knows how long, he ends up in the middle of Buttonbox Lake. Thinks he's a goner out on the ice when he spots Duane Jorgenson's fishhouse. Breaks in and gets the stove going. Nothing else to do so he opens the hole and hauls in six crappies. Strolls up to Milly's this morning big as you please, knocks on the door and wants to know if he cleans the fish will she make him breakfast. When she called they were playing Double solitaire. He needs a lift. Suppose they ate the fish." To which the Chief of Police replies: "Hope not. They're evidence. Iowa guys aren't licensed to fish in Minnesota."

Or here's an Okie trying stealth-driving through the snowdrifts with a Minneapolis yuppie: "' We can chance the truck awhile longer, but don't bang against anything or start yodeling,' Murdock warned. He believed yodeling and consumption of rhubarb endemic to northerners."

My favorite character is the power and symbolism of the timberwolf.
P.S. I hate rhubarb - but I really enjoyed this book!