BOOK REVIEW - The Thunder Head

THE THUNDER HEAD

By Dwight Holing

Jackdaw Press, 261p.

The Thunder Head is Dwight Howling’s ninth novel in his Nick Drake series.  Each set in the High Lonesome, as it is affectionately called, otherwise known as the southeastern corner of Oregon, a sparsely populated stretch of desert and scrub, not at all like the popular rain-soaked image of the state.  Nick is a Vietnam War Army Cavalry Veteran, now a Wildlife Ranger, in a modern-day land of cowboys and Indians, cattle and horses, six-guns and shootouts.  This particular story starts with the discovery of a dead body and escalates from there.  And it escalates quickly. 

Howling throws suspects and danger from all directions at a breakneck pace.  Just when you think the case is heading in one direction, he turns and goes another.  The plot pits down-on-their-luck ranchers against big-money developers, and a lot of family secrets percolate to the surface.

In between, he laces his tale with interesting bits of history, culture, Indian lore and descriptions of the geography, lovingly rendered.  It’s a fast and easy read, and when you’re finished, you are ready to reach for the next episode.  If you like detective mysteries in the Wild West, and I’m thinking Craig Johnson’s Longmire series or Tony Hillerman’s Joe Leaphorn series, then you’ll love these Nick Drake Mysteries.

I first met Dwight at a California Crime Writers’ Conference in Culver City a couple of years ago.  He was talking on a panel about self-publishing, or “indie publishing” as they called it.  It was his encouragement that finally pushed me to publish my own books.