A Long December - Softcover

Donald Harstad

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1841155489 ISBN 13: 9781841155487

Publisher: Harperperennial, 2004

Synopsis

In Donald Harstand's most compelling novel yet, Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman returns for the latest installment in this fast-paced crime series. In a rural part of Nation County the body of a dead male is discovered in a ditch, one gunshot wound to the head. A routine investigation for Carl Houseman and his team, perhaps. Except strangely there is no way of identifying him: no fingerprint records, no dental records, nothing. Enter an FBI investigator, a new face from the bureau, who suspects it is the body of a Columbian terrorist. Meanwhile, a local meat-packing plant has been accused of passing off contaminated produce. In a town straining under the pressure of mass immigration, the Jewish plant owners suspect foul play. Can there be a connection with the Columbian corpse? Houseman and FBI agent Hester Gorse chase the leads once again in another nail-biting race to discover the truth.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

"A Long December:
American crime fiction's best-kept secret-as if Michael Connelly had
spent twenty-six years as a small-town cop in Iowa-has written his
breakout book.
Brief Description:
The people of Nation County, Iowa-a heartland town straight out of a
Coen Brothers movie or a John Cougar Mellencamp song-practice a
unique brand of American stoicism. You betcha. And they rely upon
their public servants to shield them from the horrors of the outside
world. Carl Houseman, deputy sheriff of the 750-square-mile county,
dedicates his life to keeping his citizenry so secure that you can leave
the door unlocked at home and walk his streets with a big hello and a
smile to every stranger. On Houseman's watch, the mounting terrors
of the new world order stay far away.
But December 2001 could change all of that. Outsiders are everywhere.
The meat plant is now kosher and there are more Jewish fellows per
capita than any other place in the country. Hispanic and other foreign
workers, with dubious immigration papers, have taken jobs from the
locals. Eighteen other languages are now spoken within the tiny region,
and Carl and company can't speak a single one.
Then the eighty-odd-year-old Heinman brothers' call comes in from
their farm down in Frog Hollow. They've witnessed an execution-style
killing not one hundred yards from their pig feeders. The victim's awful
dead and half his head's been blown off. The boys haven't seen nothing
like it since Normandy. When Carl gets to the scene, he believes them.
What follows is a masterful police procedural thriller-think Joe
Wambaugh crossed withFargo-written with a singular and authentic
voice that has electrified readers around the world.

About the Author

Donald Harstad is a twenty-six year veteran of the Clayton County Sheriff's Department in northeastern Iowa where he was a former deputy sheriff. He is the author of three earlier crime stories featuring Carl Houseman: ELEVEN DAYS, THE KNOWN DEAD and THE BIG THAW.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harperperennial
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1841155489
• ISBN 13: 9781841155487
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320