David Wiltse

A 50-year-old hate crime puts acting deputy sheriff Billy Tree in the sights of a man who won't stop at murder to keep his role in it a secret. Tree, the former Secret Service agent who made his debut in Wiltse's bestselling Heartland, has come home to the small Nebraska town where he was raised, a place where he's still remembered as a star athlete and revered as a hero. Nothing much ever happens in Falls City, so when a mysterious black man appears in a town where that's a rare occurrence, show more and then a hangman's noose and a photograph of the lynching of Lawton Collins turn up in his own mailbox, Billy goes looking for the connection. He finds it in the last places he ever expected: his own family history and the bed of the woman he loves. show less

I came across this book on my tbr pile; I'd completely forgotten it was even there. It's about the exile of the Shah of Iran and all the money hidden for his benefit once he found a place that would allow him entry. A small, private firm was hired by the US Government; two brothers, members of the firm, were sent into Iran with vague instructions and then one of them was killed in the oilfields. One brother survived, but so did an assassin who was supposed to kill him. There is a race by a show more former top US government official to claim the millions of dollars held for the Shah before he can settle anywhere and claim the loot for himself. There are a variety of people with a variety of agenda to either help this cause or stop it. Although this book was published in 1982, it is still relevant today to see how Iran was manipulated and how Iran in turn manipulated others. show less

My friend, Jeanie, said this was a must... She was pretty right. It's written in the most interesting way. You meet the psychopathic killer first and, shortly thereafter, you meet John Becker, the retired special agent for the FBI. Their stories parallel for much of the book and it's really an interesting way to tell the story.

First Line: "Some people trail squalor behind them," Walter Matuzak was saying, eyeing the building with disgust.

A botched Secret Service operation has left Billy Tree severely wounded and traumatized and his partner dead. The best thing for him to do is to go back home to small town Falls City, Nebraska to stay with his sister and recuperate.

He's not back home very long before he finds out that interesting things have been happening to his family, friends and former school mates, and when a show more shooting at the local high school leaves people dead and plenty of unanswered questions, Billy finds himself helping out the local sheriff in an attempt to find the killer.

Unfortunately this book seems to be a good idea with mediocre execution. Billy's overwhelming self-pity wears thin quickly, and his habit of using a phony Irish brogue during times of stress just seems silly after several other characters tell him it's a stupid affectation.

The rest of the characters are straight out of central casting, and although the action sequences make excellent use of the Nebraska landscape, the pacing seems off. In many ways the best part of the book was the ending, which takes place in a grain silo. Having grown up in central Illinois, my friends and I were told many times, "Stay out of the grain silo!" We didn't-- and one time we almost came to grief ourselves.

City dwellers beware: there are lots of scary things out in the country. As Billy Tree found out in Heartland, there are more things than grain silos to make your heart beat faster. show less