The Weatherman: A Novel [Hardcover]

Steve Thayer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995

News producer Rick Beanblossom investigates a serial killer stalking the Minneapolis area as he tries to prove the innocence of Dixon Bell, a fellow Vietnam vet, eccentric TV weatherman, and rival for a beautiful anchorwoman. 75,000 first printing. $75,000 ad/promo. BOMC. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Strong opening action sequences-particularly of a tornado touching down in the Twin Cities-and an atmospheric TV newsroom setting don't quite compensate for the scattered story line and indulgent prose that mar Thayer's second novel (after Saint Mudd). The police find the first victim, as well as a partial fingerprint, presumably from the killer, outside the Channel 7 studio on the last day of spring, just before a tornado rips a deadly swath through Minneapolis-St. Paul. After two more women are killed, one in summer and one in the fall, the cops step up their efforts to identify the fingerprint and find the "Calendar Killer." When unloved weatherman Dixon Graham Bell is arrested for the murders, newswriter Rick Beanblosson, a disfigured Vietnam vet, teams up with anchorwoman and new romantic interest Andrea Labore to save him from Minnesota's newly reinstated death penalty. Thayer's depiction of TV journalism feels on target, but he fills his cast with so many unusual and often outre characters that the story takes on a cartoonish air. Still, with its reams of meteorological lore, an ironic twist ending and impassioned stance against capital punishment, this should appeal to weather buffs as well as to thriller fans looking for something a bit off the beaten serial-killer path. 60,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Thayer (Saint Mudd, LJ 5/15/92) delivers a haunting story that concerns two tortured Vietnam vets who love the same woman, fierce weather events that coincide with a series of murders, the world of television news, and the debate on capital punishment. Dixon Bell is a television meteorologist with an eerie gift for reading the weather. Rick Beanblossom is a news producer who hides his disfigured face behind a mask. Andrea Labore is the beautiful cop turned reporter whom they both love. Meanwhile, the Calendar Killer is strangling a woman each season during a significant weather event. When Bell is arrested and accused of the murders, Beanblossom and Labore join forces to prove his innocence. The novel's characters are deeply developed, and the riveting plot is cloaked in descriptive episodes of weather. Additionally, readers will receive a fascinating view of the intense machinations of television news productions. Recommended for fiction collections.
--Stacie Browne Chandler, Plymouth P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670849588
• ISBN-13: 978-0670849581
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #477,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A 'lumbering' literary masterpiece., January 18, 2000

By 

Bradley J. Weingart (Tampa, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Weatherman (Mass Market Paperback)

First of all, this novel is not for the occasional book reader. That could be why some of these reviews are so negative. The Weatherman is a very well written, engrossing book with a lot of back-story that adds subvertly but ingenuously to its progress, so that all of a sudden the characters are REAL! It's a mystery and so much more at the same time, including a realistic look into newsroom politics and meteorology. Few authors, today, attempt to write about such a large, unwieldy cast of characters as Thayer does almost effortlessly in this book. Rich Beanblossum ,a disfigured, yet brilliant Viet Nam vet, emerges slowly and unexpectly as one of the most original protagonists we've seen in a while. You may not enjoy every page of this grand mystery, but as you read it, the realization it's actually an incredible book will dawn pleasantly on you and you'll sense what a rarity it actually is.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unexplained Mysteries, April 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Weatherman (Mass Market Paperback)

I just read "the Weatherman" after having it hyped to me by a friend, and was keenly disappointed. Given the paucity of any compelling proof of Dixon Bell's guilt, the "mountain" of circumstantial evidence (that never placed him at the scene of a crime, a partial fingerprint that failed to meet even a minimum standard of proof, a diary that never mentioned any of the victims or hinted at murderous impulses) would have never convicted this man, let alone called for the death penalty. But far worse than these failings were the simply unexplained mysteries Thayer left behind. The last victim scratched her killer, leaving tissue and blood under her nails. The type O blood (the most common type) matched Bell's. But who can ever forget Detective Anglebeck's observation while interviewing Bell that he had no scratches anywhere on his hands. Apparently, Thayer did. This, unlike the circumstantial evidence against Bell, is forensic evidence that in any court would exonerate him. But it was never mentioned again. Neither was there any explanation of the origin of the "I'm going to ice you, Weatherman" messages Bell received, although there is a vague hint they came from Andy Mack, his jealous predecessor and temporary successor. And the mysterious meaning of Mack's dying words, "tell Dixon I'm sorry about those women," that at the time elicited such a strong response from Rick Beanblossom, disappeared from the story without a trace. ... My final complaint is not about "the Weatherman" itself but about writers who choose poor Minneapolis-St.Paul as the site of horrific serial murders. Between John Sanford's "Prey" series about serial killers in the cities and Thayer's "The Weatherman," I think I have counted somewhere close to one hundred victims since the mid-90s. Minnesota has changed.

Charles Whitaker

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting, September 25, 2005

By 

J. Lance (Northern NYS) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Weatherman (Mass Market Paperback)

I've just finished reading this book for the third time, and generally by the time you read something that often the impact of it on you lessens. With the really good books, however, it doesn't, and it doesn't happen with The Weatherman. It's not a comfortable read and if it bothers you to read about state executions then this might not be the book for you, but it simply is a book that's very hard to put down. I finished it this time at 2:30 AM and when you have to work in the morning this is not exactly smart, but that's the kind of hold this book can create when you get deeply into the later chapters.

Reading the other reviews there is a lot of variation on what people like and dislike about this novel. Some like the plot, others think it's weak, some like the characters and some don't. It seems to pull people different ways more than most other books and that in itself is interesting. No matter what way you look at it, it's excellent writing and that is another reason to take a look at it.

Someone else mentioned The Green Mile. To me it brought up the memory of Dreiser's An American Tragedy. There are definitely some powerful and emotional scenes here.

If you want light and cozy, don't touch this one with a ten foot pole. If you want something that makes you think long after the book is closed, then this might be something you want on your bookshelf. This one is on my own keeper shelf and in another three or four years I'll probably lose another night's sleep over it. :)