Harkness by Michael Bigham Review for Pump Up Your Book

Join Michael Bigham, author of the mystery novel, Harkness, as he tours the blogosphere May 6 – June 28, 2013 on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

Harkness isn’t your typical Western sheriff. Cowboy boots make his arches ache, he’s phobic of horses, but he does have a horse of sorts – a `39 Chevy pickup he calls Hoopie, and a sidekick – a neurotic wiener dog named Addison.

Harkness is a man of his times, shaped for both good and bad by his experiences in WWII. He deals with issues like bigotry and sexual suppression in a believable manner. We come to know him as a good man, but never a self-righteous one. The pursuit of justice is his job, and he’s good at it, but he never loses sight of where his next woman, or his next drink, is coming from. Harkness is the keeper of secrets in his little town and to solve the crime, he must decide which secrets to expose. One secret involves Judge Barnes, the county’s most powerful man. But Harkness had a secret of his own: he’s in love with the Judge’s wife. How much is Harkness willing to risk to catch a murderer?

Set on the Oregon High Desert in 1952, life in the small town of Barnesville has been easy-going for Matthew until a star-crossed teen-age couple disappears and he’s forced to deal with some horrific murders, one of which strikes very close to home, before finally confronting the killer man-to-man on the High Desert.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

ABOUT MICHAEL BIGHAM

Raised in the mill town of Prineville in Central Oregon beneath blue skies and rimrocks, Michael Bigham attended the University of Oregon and during his collegiate summers, fought range fires on the Oregon high desert for the Bureau of Land Management. He worked as a police officer with the Port of Portland and after leaving police work, obtained an MFA degree in Creative Writing from Vermont College. Michael lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and daughter. Harkness is his first novel.

WEBSITE | GOODREADS | TWITTER

My Thoughts:

Harkness: A High Desert Mystery is about Matt Harkness, Sheriff of Barnesville in 1952 and his dog Addison..A young girl is brutally murdered and her boyfriend is missing. It is his job to find whoever murdered the girl and find her missing boyfriend. One murder leads to three, including one who is Harkness's secret love. In this small town there are a lot of suspects and Matt finds the task getting more difficult as each suspect is eliminated. This is a story full of secrets, illicit love affairs and great amount of alcohol consumed by the sheriff. It was refreshing reading a story that did not have cell phones, computers or other technology but it does have a likeable sheriff, his dog and his `39' Chevy pickup Harkness calls Hoopie. A suspenseful, fun read...I do love a great mystery and this debut novel shouts 'series'. I recommend it highly.

I received a copy of this book for review and was not monetarily compensated for my review.