Long Son
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4.2 • 38 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
“With his distinctive, minimalist prose . . . Bowen’s writing is lean. . . . An unsentimental, galvanizing portrait of life in small-town Montana” (Publishers Weekly).
For generations, the Messmers have raised cattle in the rough country of eastern Montana. When the current owners die in a tragic accident, they leave the ranch to their son—an ominous development for everyone in the area. Larry Messmer left Toussaint years ago when he got in trouble for bludgeoning a horse to death. Gabriel Du Pré hoped he would never set eyes on him again. Larry announces his return by having his ranch hands kill every weak cow on the property. Unfortunately, the livestock will not be the last to die.
The FBI asks Du Pré, a cattle inspector and occasional lawman, to keep an eye on Larry. What he uncovers is a ranch stricken by criminal greed, lorded over by a pathological son who should never have come home. And when violence erupts again, Du Pré finds himself in the cross hairs.
Long Son is the 6th book in The Montana Mysteries Featuring Gabriel Du Pré series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With his distinctive, minimalist prose, Bowen (Thunder Horse, etc.) once again transports readers to the vast open spaces of Montana, in the sixth entry of his Gabriel Du Pr series. Sociopath Larry Messmer has returned to Toussaint, Mont., to take over the ranch his parents left him after their deaths in a tragic accident. Long despised and feared by residents for his cruelty, Messmer appears to be part of an organization intent on setting up some nefarious business on the ranch. At the request of a friend in the FBI, local Native American Du Pr begins looking into the matter and discovers a long history of violence and murder. When Messmer himself is slain, however, his associates think Du Pr is responsible, and he becomes the target of their revenge. Bowen's writing is lean and full of mordant observations. His hardy characters--tough teachers, smart barmaids, rambunctious children, wise-cracking men--come to life, and his wry humor ("How come things that are good for you taste terrible?" a little girl asks, and Madelaine responds: "That is how you tell.") provides relief from the haunting, wind-bitten cattle-ranch landscape. Bowen incorporates M tis folklore and history to great effect, and he provides an unsentimental, galvanizing portrait of life in small-town Montana.
