The Big Thaw

Rating:
Summary: Procedure does not equal plot
Review: As a law enforcement officer for seven years, I can attest to the feelings Harstad manages to relay. Although fictional in content, the manner of investigating and the underlying perspectives about the case are true to form for a Deputy Sheriff. The book offers that, although our senses and instincts are screaming not to do something, officers don't have a choice and often have to wait a long time for backup in a "creepy" situation. But don't be misdirected, the book isn't written for police officers, nor is it intended to make others aware of how we feel. It is truly enjoyable reading, written from a realistic officer's perspective, that keeps everyone's attention from cover to cover. As a reader, you get to experience the case (all case investigations are mysteries until solved) and realize the facts as they appear, formulating your own conclusions as you go. Good job, Mr. Harstad. True entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: A Cold Crime Story
Review: As we in the South would say, Harstad's Chief Deputy Carl Houseman is "just darlin'." You just can't help loving a guy who when pleased says "Cool!" and suffers with his enforced Low Fat diet by ordering pancakes, scrambled eggs, and waffles with "lo-fat syrup." Carl is enamored of high-tech devices that are a financial impossibility for a sheriff's department in rural Iowa. The author's 26 years of law enforcement experience are pivotal in making his stories so authentic sounding, it feels like true crime.

The Nation County Sheriff's patrol is cruising their 750 square mile jurisdiction in minus 20-degree weather trying to get a lead on some burglaries taking place in empty "snowbird" residences. (Folks with good sense who flee from Iowa winters) Carl almost runs down a forlorn figure who has been honking his horn. Local ne'er do well, Fred "Goober" Houseman finally admits he is the wheelman for the latest rash of robberies and says his two cousins who were going to rob the nearest farm last night never came out, and now poor ole Fred doesn't know what to do, so he's been sitting there honking the horn.

Upon investigation, Carl finds two frozen corpses in a shed by the empty house. The crime unravels to much more than burglaries and appears to have a far right wing militant conspiracy involved. The story escalates into a bang-up conclusion that really needs to be on the big screen with splendiferous special effects.

This is my second Donald Harstad book, and he just keeps getting better. His characterizations are subtle and nuanced. He is careful to keep his 99 percent law abiding and normal Iowa citizens in the forefront, so the reader doesn't get the impression only serial killers and loonies live in northern Iowa. And this is a man who knows COLD. Read it in front of the fire!
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Deep Thaw captures Iowa and Iowans
Review: Carl Houseman captures the classic northeast Iowan of nordic descent. A man of few words and many, many, low-fat treats, he does the right thing(s) with alacrity and calm confidence. Despite the self-deprecating humor about his massive girth, bad back, and average intellect, he gets the job done--and the chicks go for him.
As a northeast Iowan for the past 50 odd years I can tell you that Harstad's depictions of the terrain, the gravel roads, the love of buffets, and the relentlessly cold January weather is spot on. Clearly, his knowledge is due to first hand experience and the quality of the narrative is evidence of a first class mind.
One suggestion: Harstad's prose is best when he's just another guy telling stories about dissecting "corpse-sickles" that Houseman has found in a shed. A kind editor would whack the few lapses into purple prose and tell him to stick with what he does do so well.

Rating:
Summary: A Cold Crime Story
Review: It's cold in Iowa, and you may want to wear a pair of warm gloves while reading this Carl Houseman novel in order to avoid frostbite. You can almost feel the blanket of snow covering the roads and smell the coffee brewing back at the station as Maitland's favorite Deputy Sheriff returns for a third entry in Donald Harstad's fine series.

A break-in at a rural Iowa farm where no one is home will leave two burglers dead, murdered execution style, and Houseman with only one suspect, who he believes is innocent. Only when the vague Special Agent Volont from Harstad's previous entry, Known Dead, arrives does Houseman discover the one man army named Gabriel has returned to Nation County.

DCI Agent Hester Gorse returns, as does Carl's boss Lamar, capable dispatcher, Sally, FBI Agent George, and reporter Nancy Mitchell, who looks to be a very interesting addition to this very enjoyable series. The rural atmosphere and Houseman's self-deprecating humor during tense situations are the trademark of Harstad's novels.

A moonlight chase on snowmobiles, an autopsy viewed by Houseman, Nancy and her photographer Shamrock, and the simultanious robbery of a bank and a gambling ship will all lead right back to the snow covered farmhouse where this all began, and a final confrontation with the always dangerous Gabriel.

This is a cold one, but a good one. Wearing long johns is optional, but highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Another great read
Review: Its two years after the events described in 'Known Dead', and it's deep winter in Iowa. The action starts with a car chase that nets a burglary lookout who is terrified that his cousins whom he dropped off two days before to rob a holiday home might have died from exposure. Deputy Carl Houseman investigate the property and find two bodies all right, but inside the property and definitely not dead from hypothermia. The absent owner arrives, all aggression and bluster, and the plot starts to thicken. Added to the pot are an over-confident FBI surveillance team, a floating casino, an incompetent sniper, paranoid right-wing loons, a frozen river, media reporters, and a very bright survivalist-cum-bank robber in the form of the infamous Gabriel, last seen in 'Known Dead'.

While I agree with another reviewer's comments about the sloppy proof-reading, these are infrequent enough that they didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book, and can be laid firmly at the door of the publisher, not the author. Harstad brings his protagonist, Houseman, to life with his descriptions of an experienced police officer getting dressed using short cuts learned from experience, in his realistic conversations and descriptions with other characters, in his explanations of police procedure. Houseman is a very credible character, sympathetic, astute, self-deprecating, and always hungry. Harstad imbues him with a gentle wit that is been best seen in his interactions with his favourite dispatcher, Sally Wells and DCI investigator Hester Gorse. Now, Sally could give Hester a run for her money as a detective, in my opinion. Harstads' favourite foils are back in the form of the pedantic Art Meyermann, now working for DCI, and the robotic FBI counter-terrorist agent Volont, constantly out-thought by his arch-enemy Gabriel.

Like Harstad's earlier books in this series, I really enjoyed this one. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Another great read
Review: Its two years after the events described in `Known Dead', and it's deep winter in Iowa. The action starts with a car chase that nets a burglary lookout who is terrified that his cousins whom he dropped off two days before to rob a holiday home might have died from exposure. Deputy Carl Houseman investigate the property and find two bodies all right, but inside the property and definitely not dead from hypothermia. The absent owner arrives, all aggression and bluster, and the plot starts to thicken. Added to the pot are an over-confident FBI surveillance team, a floating casino, an incompetent sniper, paranoid right-wing loons, a frozen river, media reporters, and a very bright survivalist-cum-bank robber in the form of the infamous Gabriel, last seen in `Known Dead'.

While I agree with another reviewer's comments about the sloppy proof-reading, these are infrequent enough that they didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book, and can be laid firmly at the door of the publisher, not the author. Harstad brings his protagonist, Houseman, to life with his descriptions of an experienced police officer getting dressed using short cuts learned from experience, in his realistic conversations and descriptions with other characters, in his explanations of police procedure. Houseman is a very credible character, sympathetic, astute, self-deprecating, and always hungry. Harstad imbues him with a gentle wit that is been best seen in his interactions with his favourite dispatcher, Sally Wells and DCI investigator Hester Gorse. Now, Sally could give Hester a run for her money as a detective, in my opinion. Harstads' favourite foils are back in the form of the pedantic Art Meyermann, now working for DCI, and the robotic FBI counter-terrorist agent Volont, constantly out-thought by his arch-enemy Gabriel.

Like Harstad's earlier books in this series, I really enjoyed this one. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: New Found Pleasure
Review: Just discovered this author. Excellent read. Best this year. More please! The best thrillers give a real sense of place and atmosphere. This book gives a fascinating insight into contemporary small town Iowa. It might be cold but you really feel you should go and find out!

Rating:
Summary: These cops like to eat!
Review: These cops sure do like to eat, with Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman leading the way to the buffet. This adds a feeling of realism to this entertaining novel set in a truly godforsaken sounding part of Iowa. The plot is not full of mystery and suspense, but more of the day to day plodding and in fighting of a real sounding sheriff's operation. I came away from this novel with a feeling of knowing the characters, even the minor ones, and enjoying the little screw-ups that occurred in the course of the chase. The only annoying part of the book is the incessant use of "cool" by the protagonist and most of his associates. People don't really say "cool" all the time, do they?

Rating:
Summary: Chillingly Closer to Cussler than Christie
Review: This 3rd installment of former Deputy Sheriff Carl Harstad's Nation County series is heavier on the "thriller" side of the police procedural scale than "who-dunnit" (or is that donut? As in the previous books, there's a whole lot of coffee and donuts being consumed ;-) It could be subtitled: "Known Dead - Book II." I sure am glad that I read "the Big Thaw" immediately following "Known Dead" and strongly urge you to also get and read the former first because "The Big Thaw," more than other serial procedurals, is a continuation of the saga started last time, and it really helps to know the players and have them fresh in your mind.

This time, there are some dead burglars at the home of "snowbird" farmers. Deputy Houseman is on the case. His Cohort, Hester Gorse, is stationed on the floating casino on the Mississippi. Volont and Gabriel are back as foiIs. Readers on "the Coasts" may get a warped view of the Heartland with Harstad's sustained focus on militant extremists who are actually a minute portion of the mostly hard-working and level-headed folks that produce our nation's food. But most of the characterizations are "dead on," showcasing the humour and self-effacing good nature of many rural mid-western law enforcement folks. It's another "BINGO!"

Rating:
Summary: Chillingly Closer to Cussler than Christie
Review: This 3rd installment of former Deputy Sheriff Carl Harstad's Nation County series is heavier on the "thriller" side of the police procedural scale than "who-dunnit" (or is that donut? As in the previous books, there's a whole lot of coffee and donuts being consumed ;-) It could be subtitled: "Known Dead - Book II." I sure am glad that I read "the Big Thaw" immediately following "Known Dead" and strongly urge you to also get and read the former first because "The Big Thaw," more than other serial procedurals, is a continuation of the saga started last time, and it really helps to know the players and have them fresh in your mind.

This time, there are some dead burglars at the home of "snowbird" farmers. Deputy Houseman is on the case. His Cohort, Hester Gorse, is stationed on the floating casino on the Mississippi. Volont and Gabriel are back as foiIs. Readers on "the Coasts" may get a warped view of the Heartland with Harstad's sustained focus on militant extremists who are actually a minute portion of the mostly hard-working and level-headed folks that produce our nation's food. But most of the characterizations are "dead on," showcasing the humour and self-effacing good nature of many rural mid-western law enforcement folks. It's another "BINGO!"