After his acclaimed debut, Suspension
(2000), Crabbe delivers a less than compelling historical thriller, again featuring New York City detective Tom Braddock, whose attempts to enjoy a quiet Adirondacks vacation during the summer of 1889 with his family are, predictably, interrupted by professional demands. The resort hotel at which the Braddocks are staying becomes the epicenter for a manhunt targeting Jim Tupper, a Mohawk suspected of murdering a construction foreman in Manhattan tied to the corrupt power brokers of Tammany Hall. The fugitive has apparently left a string of killings in his wake, and the local sheriff suspects that Braddock's adopted son, a former street gang member, is involved. The early revelation of the identity of the criminals behind the violence eliminates any mystery, besides leaving little room to explore the tensions between Braddock and his son. The bulk of the book reads like a clichéd western, with shootouts, miraculous escapes from cliff sides and falling trees, and uncanny, indefatigable native trackers full of homespun wisdom. There's never a sense that any of the key characters are in peril, and the main villain's gory death is reminiscent of a bad slasher movie. In the absence of gripping characters or a meaningful evocation of the period, this effort is unlikely to gain Crabbe many new readers. (Nov. 21)
