The Big Thaw

Zusatztext "Harstad punches all the paranoia buttons." -- The New York Times Book Review "Compelling ... [with a] spectacular finale ... Harstad writes 'cop talk' that's not only believable but often (intentionally) funny." -- Publishers Weekly "Harstad gets better and better with each book." -- Library Journal "Escape the urban thriller to the heartland with Harstad! a real rising star." -- Booknews from The Poisoned Pen "Plenty of laughs! skewed violence! and marvelous takes on how weird Iowa winters can be -- in the third! and best! procedural featuring easygoing Nation County Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman! from a former Iowa deputy sheriff who knows the territory inside out." -- Kirkus Reviews Also by Donald Harstad: Eleven Days Known Dead And look for the new Carl Houseman novel from Donald Harstad coming from Doubleday in hardcover in January 2002 Informationen zum Autor Donald Harstad Klappentext A killer is placing his cross hairs over the American heartland.... The pair of frozen corpses were found under a tarp in the machine shed of an empty farmhouse. Two males -- brothers -- both killed by bullets from a Russian automatic fired at close range. The cops have a suspect: a man Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman busted five years earlier and the county's lead suspect in a series of recent robberies. Houseman knows they have the wrong guy. He also knows they've got something bigger than a burglary gone bad ... especially when the FBI starts showing up in Maitland. The brutal double homicide is just the tip of the iceberg in a case where a killer's trail keeps disappearing like footprints in freshly fallen snow! and where one bad break can send a good cop into a deep freeze. Monday, January 12, 1998, 2309 About a minute after I got settled in bed, I heard a faint scratching sound. It took me a second to realize that I'd left my police walkie-talkie on. It was sitting in its charger, about fifteen feet from the bed. I thought about getting up and turning it off, but there were several reasons I didn't. First, Sue was already asleep beside me, and I didn't want to wake her by moving around some more. Second, the intermittent transmissions by the bored dispatcher were kind of soothing, in a distant way. I could hear her talk, but the volume was set so low, I couldn't make out the words. Perfect. Third, I was just too damned tired to get up. I was getting to that presleep stage, when the pitch of the dispatcher's voice began to rise. After a moment, she began to speak rapidly, excitedly to cars that were apparently too far away for me to hear. I sat up, and listened for a moment. Still couldn't make out the content, and now I just had to find out. I swung my legs off the bed, got up, and padded over to the little radio. Just in time to be able to make out the Maitland car, which was within a quarter mile of me, asking a question. "Comm, Twenty-five, what's going on?" "Twenty-five, Five and Nine are in pursuit of a burglary suspect, out on the old Grange road." I knew what was coming, and was reaching for the phone when it rang. "They want some assistance, and Lamar said to call you, since it might involve a burglary investigation. They started the chase about five minutes ago down by Hellman's curve, and they've been going up..." "Okay..." I interrupted, "just let me get dressed ... give me directions after I'm in the car..." "Ten-four..." She was new, and newbies had a tendency to use ten codes over the phone. "Wear your long johns, it's getting really cold." "Yeah..." as I hung up the phone. "Who was that?" mumbled Sue. "Gotta go ... they're chasing a guy and need help." I reached into my drawer and pulled out my long underwear. I pulled it on, and put on two pair...

Détails du produit

• Auteurs: Donald Harstad
• Edition: Bantam Books USA
• Langues: Anglais
• Format d'édition: Livre de poche
• Sortie: 01.05.2001
• EAN: 9780553583038
• ISBN: 978-0-553-58303-8
• Pages: 416
• Dimensions: 106 mm x 174 mm x 28 mm
• Thèmes: Carl Houseman; Carl Houseman
• Catégorie: Littérature > Suspense > Policiers, espionnage