Review
Nobody in Pomo - a lakeside resort - thinks well of the hulking stranger who's just come to town. But when local siren Strom Carey is murdered - can they pin the blame on him? First UK publication of this novel by the two-time Shamus Award winner.
The strangely named John Faith is regarded with suspicion and even hatred from the moment he is first spotted in the tight-knit community of Pomo. Not only is he a stranger, but he is a huge and ugly one - a threat to their women, their children and the security of their small town. Is it purely a coincidence that bad things start to happen when he turns up? A Native American schoolteacher is attacked, a bank robbed and the stunning and promiscuous widow Storm Carey murdered all within two days of his arrival, and for police officer Richard Novak there is nothing coincidental about it. This whodunnit has all the classic elements of the genre, including a murder, an obsessive police chief, one main suspect and dozens of people with varying motives for the crime. However, despite all the intrigue, the murder is eclipsed by the mystery surrounding the true identity of John Faith and what exactly has brought him to Pomo. The tale is told in first-person narratives from various of the townsfolk, a technique that author Bill Pronzini manages with great aplomb. Each character has a distinctive voice and gives a fascinating spin on the events that occur and on John Faith himself. Through these narratives, mini-dramas are uncovered including domestic abuse, teenage pregnancy and embezzlement, all of which add to the rich tapestry. This is a fast-paced and thrilling novel full of unanswered questions, and you will not want to put it down. (Kirkus UK)
Product Description
When big, hulking stranger John C. Faith arrives in Pomo, a faded lakeside resort in northern California, he immediately rouses suspicion. Who is he? What does he want? Everyone has an opinion of him - few are favourable. What Faith doesn't know is he's picked a bad weekend to come to Pomo. Bank president George Petrie, desperate to cover his financial indiscretions, is about to pull off a major robbery of his own bank; Native American schoolteacher Audrey Sixkiller is being threatened by a masked rapist; and the sexy widow Storm Carey, Who's slept with half the men in town, is running headlong into disaster. When Storm is discovered murdered the whole town explodes into a frenzy and Faith is the casualty. Told by the townsfolk in a rotating first-person narrative, A Wasteland of Strangers is a powerful, timeless thriller with a heavy noir influence: a worthy follow-up to Pronzini's New York Times Book Review Notable novel, Blue Lonesome.
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