About the Author:
Ken Kuhlken is a compulsive storyteller who drifted from his home in the southwest to the University of Iowa to study in its Writers' Workshop. After publishing a story in Esquire, he believed he was golden. But the world proved to be a rougher arena than he'd foreseen, and he drifted through eight colleges teaching writing. Meantime, he fathered three amazing children and did three years as a newspaper columnist.
www.kenkuhlken.net
Review:
"...thoughtful and exciting.... Among its other virtues, it captures summer 1972 and its motley crew--outlaw bikers, war protestors, marijuana growers and users--to understated perfection."
-- Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune, 2/4/2007
"Kuhlken revisits the Hickey family in a tale as sensitive and heartfelt as it is action-packed...The often violent, paradoxically principled Tom Hickey debuted in 1991, when Kuhlken won St. Martin's Best First Private Eye Novel award, for The Loud Adios. Lying fallow hasn't hurt the Hickeys, who've only become more in"trospective and complex...Crime, punishment and
redemption. Kuhlken's best." -- Kirkus (August 28, 2006)
"It is 1972, and Clifford Hickey, who is about to go to law school to please his father, wants one last chance to live his dream by performing at Big Dan's folk music festival in the redwoods forest of Evergreen, CA. As he arrives at his brother Alvaro's remote campgrounds, police storm the camp to arrest Alvaro for the murder of an officer's nephew. Alvaro escapes leaving Clifford to unravel the identity of the real killer in this fourth tale about the Hickey family (after The Loud Adios, The Venus Deal, and The Angel Gang). Only Ava, a "Jesus freak," and Clifford's ex-cop father can help him piece the clues together. Kuhlken draws colorful characters-biker gang
members, hippies, and small town law enforcement-in a world where marijuana profits and music rule. A compelling storyline with the right amount of suspense will keep readers guessing. Recommended for all collections. The author lives in California." --Library Journal
"Kuhlken (The Loud Adios, 1991) is back with another tale of the Hickey family. Although father Tom has retired from investigating, his son, Clifford, inadvertently finds himself trapped doing some sleuthing of his own. An amateur guitarist, Clifford, on his way to law school, is scheduled to perform at a folk festival in Evergreen, California. It is the summer of 1972, so the area is full of hippies, war protesters, marijuana farmers, and outlaw bikers. Clifford is supposed to meet his brother, Alvaro, a combat-trained veteran who served in Vietnam, at his campsite. An armed sheriff's posse interrupts their reunion, and Alvaro vanishes into the woods. The sheriff arrests Clifford, who later learns that someone has murdered the sheriff's nephew, and Alvaro is the prime suspect. Trapped in a battle between the law, rival biker gangs, the locals, and his own family, Clifford has an intricate puzzle to solve. Readers will enjoy this tale, which captures the history and atmosphere of 1970s California as well as the complex dynamics of a fascinating family." --Booklist
"Set in 1972, Kuhlken's fourth mystery to feature the endearing Hickey clan (after 1994'sThe Angel Gang ) follows 22-year-old Clifford Hickey, an aspiring folk singer, as he takes one last stab at a music career before heading to USC law school at the urging of his father, former cop and PI Tom Hickey, the eccentric protagonist of the first three books in the series. Clifford plans to perform at a jamboree in Evergreen, a small town in California redwood country, but shortly after he arrives at his half-brother Alvaro's camp in the woods, the cops storm the site. Alvaro escapes, but Clifford is taken into custody. Later, Alvaro is charged with the murder of a sheriff's nephew, and Clifford must try to prove his brother's innocence in a town filled with vengeful bikers, suspicious locals, crooked cops, rogue federal agents and pot-growing hippies. Kuhlken brings the social and cultural scene of the period vividly to life.(Nov.)" -Publishers Weekly
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