Breaking Blue (Paperback)

by Timothy Egan (Author) "WHEN IT CAME TIME for Bill Parsons to die, he crumpled into his wife's arms and started talking about the things cops seldom share with..." (more)
Key Phrases: butter thieves, pawned pants, richest empire, Pend Oreille, Clyde Ralstin, Mother's Kitchen (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In 1935, Spokane, Wash., was in the sixth year of the Great Depression. Unemployment was high. Civilian Conservation Corps workers were arriving in droves from the East for the Grand Coulee Dam project. Crime was rampant, and a series of creamery robberies had the town on edge. Then, on Sept. 4, the Pend Oreille County town marshal investigating these crimes was murdered. The mystery of George Conniff's death went unsolved until 1989, when Tony Bamonte, sheriff of Pend Oreille County and a graduate student, inadvertently uncovered information that generations of police had conspired to keep hidden. Egan ( The Good Rain ), Seattle bureau chief for the New York Times, lumbers occasionally, but his account of the reopened investigation generally resonates with regional color. Bamonte's investigation of the killing started as scholarly research, but stepped up when "a convergence of conscience and coincidence" suggested that the marshal had been shot by a cop protecting colleagues associated with the robberies. In a deathbed confession, a cop revealed that the Spokane police were involved in more than "a conspiracy of small corruptions." Egan evocatively resurrects the scenes and raw insensitivities of '30s police life in the region, from Mother's Place, the diner where cops plotted their heists, to the Hotel de Gink, where transients stayed.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
In the course of preparing a master's thesis on law enforcement in Pend Oreille County, Washington, Sheriff Tony Bamonte discovered new evidence relating to the 1935 murder of Town Marshal George Conniff. Bamonte uncovered documents that implicated another police officer in the murder and also revealed a widespread cover-up by the Spokane Police Department. Already unpopular because of his confrontations with the lumber industry and his criticism of other law-enforcement agencies, Bamonte further angered the police community by disregarding the code that forbids going after a fellow police officer--"breaking blue." Tracking down witnesses who verified his suspicions, Bamonte turned his efforts to a search for the murder weapon, a gun thrown into a river more than 50 years earlier. The trail eventually led him to a final surprising discovery, which in turn was capped by an even greater irony. Egan, Seattle bureau chief of the New York Times , tells this remarkable story with a journalist's thoroughness and a novelist's ability to evoke place and character. The tale is rich in history and suspense and is recommended for all crime collections.
-Ben Harrison, East Orange P.L., N.J.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books; Pbk. ed edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570610606
• ISBN-13: 978-1570610608
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,022,415 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quest For Justice Symbolically Succeeded, February 24, 2003

By	K. Johnson (US/Asia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In addition to being a real-life investigative crime solving book, Eagan's descriptive writing in "Breaking Blue" touched upon many areas that brought the people of the 1930s and this part of the country to life. The natural beauty of the inland Pacific Northwest in the setting of the Great Depression. Hobos, gambling, (...), saloons, opium dens, Nez Perce tribe and police corruption. This work provides a historical glimpse, within its' investigation, which ultimately led to success. Tony Bamonte, A County Sheriff in Pen Oreille County in eastern Washington state, turned his 500 page Master's Thesis into a murder-case solver.

Clyde Ralstin lived a life in the West in some fashion of the Wild Wild West. After he committed the murder, he was fingered out by a fellow detective in the police department. The detective was ordered by his superiors to stop the investigation and be quiet. At the same time, Ralstin left town. Files on both men "disappeared." But many statements and investigations were all uncovered by Bamonte. Living out his final years in Montana, Ralstin was aware of the tightening noose around his neck for what he did 54 years before. The stress and anxiety he experienced, which ultimately help end his life, was the only small amount of justice he received.

Some people close to Ralstin actually accused Bamonte of causing trouble and being the problem. Such is sometimes the twisted loyalty of the blue line, when a member commits wrong doing, even the murder of a fellow police officer. Ralstin stated, "the whole department was crooked back then. Why are they coming after me?"

Bamonte submitted his Master's thesis to his professor at Gonzaga University with trepidation. Is this 500 page piece of work going to be scoffed at, rejected, or laughed at? His professor said it was the most intriguing thesis he'd ever encountered. After some media attention over this 54 year-old local murder case, some turned the tables on Bamonte. During Bamonte's re-election campaign in 1990, the Spokane police chief held 3 press conferences publicly criticizing Bamonte. Actions like this are unheard of. Bamonte lost the election. Why did the the Spokane police chief do this? Because Bamonte was investigating a similar murder in his jurisdiction.

After Clyde Ralstin died 1989, the murder case was closed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild Blue, November 6, 2001

By	brian t (colorado springs, co) - See all my reviews

A terrific story that encompasses the mood and flavor of the setting and climate. I often felt as though I was right in the middle of town or in the same room with the characters as the story unfolds. Well written with reference to various time frames over a span of so many years. As I read, I kept wondering if the main characters research was going to be availble as a story in itself. I'll let you find out for yourself. I've never been to the area or even the state itself but after this read and Snow Falling on Cedars, I may be hooked enough by the authors descriptions to travel out sometime.
A great read that will touch your emotions.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much More Than "True Crime", September 1, 2000

By	E. Martin (Tacoma, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Egan goes beyond the typical "true crime" formula to explore a hidden history and sub-culture. His depictions of the regional character resonated with me (a former, recent, Spokanite and Washingtonian born and bred). As one reviewer pointed out, the corruption Egan plunges the reader into is still a powerful force in the region today -- an ugly undercurrent that, in order to remain there, most find necessary to turn a blind eye to. "Breaking Blue" manages to weave several complex elements into a highly readable story without condescending to, or losing, the reader. "The Good Rain" is another masterful study of the Northwest Egan fans may want to read.