WINNER OF THE SAN DIEGO BOOK AWARD FOR MYSTERIES Funny, sharp, gritty Dahlgren Wallace is a Montana fly-fishing guide caught in the middle of a nasty war over land and history. Dahlgren is a former college football star, a veteran of the first Gulf War, and a former member of the Marine Corps elite Force Recon. He thought he put the world of intrigue and special forces behind him by becoming a fly-fishing guide. He’s the river keeper and guide on an expansive, private Montana river, owned by a media mogul. When the novel opens, Dahlgren is guiding his boss’s latest guest, a Mormon billionaire, down that river. It looks like an unexpected friendship is in the making?until the billionaire is bludgeoned to death, practically under Dahlgren’s nose. By a twist of fate?or is it??Dahlgren doesn’t witness the murder. Instead, he’s immediately suspected of the crime. He has been framed. In an effort to defend himself, he must resort to the skills learned in Special Ops?skills he had hoped he’d never need again. As he delves further into the case, he finds himself embroiled with a band of neo-Nazi-type militia; a deadly serious, radical environmental movement; a colony of peaceful Hutterites; a kilt-wearing clandestine cattleman’s organization; and the FBI. All the while, he is led down a twisted path of discovery and into the deepest recesses of Mormon history. Full of action, humor, and tremendous suspense, and peopled with wonderfully surprising characters?from a Jewish deli-owner/scholar to the former beauty queen wife of the victim?Blood Atonement is a winner. Tenuto’s agile style and lightning-fast pace will make the world impatient for the next Dahlgren Wallace mystery.
OK, read this from my husband’s book pile, knowing it was about fly fishing, not expecting to even finish it, but I did. Pretty good read, but a very MALE perspective, LOL. Miss Utah (married) slips away from her husband into our hero’s bedroom (the fly fishing guide) at night? Learned more about flies than anyone needs to know, but also interesting location lore: Montana, bison, cattle ranchers. And of course, our hero, who keeps getting beaten up as he tracks the bad guys, in the very best tough guy sleuthing tradition. Ended up really enjoying a different perspective, for the most part. Would read another, knowing what I’m in for.
Lu en français dans l’admirable traduction de Jacques Mailhos, en Totem de chez Gallmeister. Une enquête trépidante riche en rebondissements, avec une galerie de personnages plus ou moins illuminés. J’ai adoré l’humour de Dahlgren Wallace, as de la répartie. Un coup de cœur !
Good for the first novel by Jim Tenuto. The main character took a lot of physical punishment and survived it all even breaking and solving the crime. I hope he has more out there. I like to see authors grow. I did like the main character, Dahlgren Wallace a lot. Great setting, although the ranch owner was a thinly disguised Ted Turner with his Montana mega-ranch. I hope Tenuto writes another one.