Code Sixty-One - Hardcover

Harstad, Donald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385501188 ISBN 13: 9780385501187

Publisher: Doubleday, 2002

Synopsis

With his dead-on depictions of the rural crime beat in such critically acclaimed novels as Eleven Days, Known Dead, and The Big Thaw, Donald Harstad proved himself to be a master of the police procedural and a keen observer of the intrigues and eccentricities of the American heartland. In Code Sixty-one, Harstad furthers his talents, bringing his offbeat, Fargoesque style to a gripping tale about modern-day vampires.

Investigating the apparent suicide of a colleague’s niece, Iowa Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman uncovers a group that has transformed the dark fantasies of vampire legend into grisly reality: they ritualistically drink small amounts of one another’s blood. As Houseman and his partner, Hester Gorse, are drawn deeper into this alternate, alien world, they come to the chilling conclusion that the dead young woman may have been the victim of a twenty-first-century Dracula. Their prime suspect, Dan Peal, is a sinister and commanding presence within the group, but without proof to substantiate such a heinous theory, the trail is in danger of running cold. When their suspicions are bolstered by the report of a card-carrying vampire-hunter who is also pursuing Peal, Houseman and Gorse suddenly find themselves scrambling to track the vampire before he kills again.

A spellbinding journey into the dark recesses of the modern-day heartland, Code Sixty-one unfolds with relentless speed and precision. Veteran police officer and author Donald Harstad continues to craft his work from the fabric of personal experience and insider know-how, cutting to the quick of well-imagined fiction, rattling nerves along the way.

About this title

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR THE BIG THAW
"Compelling...[with a] spectacular finale...Harstad writes ‘cop talk’ that’s not only believable but often (intentionally) funny."
—Publishers Weekly

"A truly great storyteller...He sets up the story beautifully, with intense suspense, an intriguing investigation that has all the authentic trappings, and a believable cast of police personnel. He gets better and better with each book.” —Library Journal

"It’s fascinating to follow Harstad’s hero-narrator, Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman of Nation County, Iowa, through a crime scene. Houseman proceeds with absolute confidence, making the slightest depression in the carpeting intriguing, treating the reader to insights gleaned from physical evidence that only a firsthand authority can renderÉHarstad is one of the most reliable and riveting police procedural writers in the business." --Booklist

PRAISE FOR KNOWN DEAD
“[Harstad] knows his territory, and his description of it is gritty and realistic...a sophisticated, funny and diverting book.”
--New York Times

"Crackles with the electricity of an adrenaline-laced shoot-out."—Denver Post

"A series to watch."—Cleveland Plain Dealer

PRAISE FOR ELEVEN DAYS
"A hell of a first novel. Donald Harstad has created a gripping and unsettling world that underscores the simple truth that the threat of evil and its violence is everywhere in America-- even the farmlands of Iowa. Harstad seasons the book with a wonderful cast of characters and his insider’s knowledge. His is a welcome new voice in crime fiction. —Michael Connelly

"Eleven Days satisfies on every level...With one startling twist after another, this grisly but cunningly sophisticated story is truly frightening...A debut spellbinder."–San Francisco Chronicle.

"[Harstad’s] dry, even droll account of these macabre crimes makes them all the more terrible."
--New York Times Book Review

"Downright explosive! The descriptions of the police work rival Wambaugh’s best." —Publishers Weekly

About the Author

DONALD HARSTAD is the author of Eleven Days, Known Dead, and The Big Thaw. A former deputy sheriff and twenty-six-year veteran of the Clayton County Sheriff’s Department, he lives in Elkader, Iowa.

About this edition

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0385501188
• ISBN 13: 9780385501187
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384