Oregon Hill
by Howard Owen
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Pub Date Jul 15 2012 | Archive Date Jul 08 2013
Description
Hammet Prize Nominee
Willie Black has squandered a lot of things in this life - his liver, his lungs, a couple of former wives and a floundering daughter can all attest to his abuse. He's lucky to be employed, having managed to drink and smart-talk his way out of a nice, cushy job covering (and partying with) the politicians down at the capitol.
Now, he's back on the night cops beat, right where he started when he came to work for the Richmond paper almost 30 years ago. The thing Willie's always had going for him, though, all the way back to his hardscrabble days as a mixed-race kid on Oregon Hill, where white was the primary color and fighting was everyone's favorite leisure pastime, was grit. His mother, the drug-addled Peggy, gave him that if nothing else. He never backed down then, and he shows no signs of changing.
When a co-ed at the local university where Willie's daughter is a perpetual student is murdered, her headless body found alongside the South Anna River, the hapless alleged killer is arrested within days. Everyone but Willie seems to think: Case closed. But Willie, against the orders and advice of his bosses at the paper, the police and just about everyone else, doesn't think the case is solved at all. He embarks on a one-man crusade to do what he's always done: Get the story.
On the way, Willie runs afoul of David Junior Shiflett, a nightmare from his youth who's now a city cop, and awakens another dark force, one everyone thought disappeared a long time ago. And a score born in the parking lot of an Oregon Hill beer joint 40 years ago will finally be settled.
The truth is out there. Willie Black's going to dig it out or die trying.
Advance Praise
Hammet Prize Nominee
"If anyone is watching out for the forgotten citizens of Oregon Hill, it’s Willie, who grew up there and speaks the local language, a crisp and colorful urban idiom we can’t wait to hear again." - The New York Times
"Character-driven crime fiction executed with style." - Booklist
"Owen's cast of full-bodied, flawed and often quirky characters add depth and texture to this fast-moving crime story that's fueled by revenge and heads for a violent end...this is a good bet for fans of hard-boiled mysteries." - Library Journal
"Owen knows his setting, his dialogue is spot-on and his grasp of the down-and-dirty work of the police and news reporters lends authenticity to the narrative. This is Southern literature as expected, with a touch of noir, and with a touch of Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River. Willie Black deserves a sequel." - Kirkus
"Having worked as a newspaper reporter, Mr. Owen writes in a captivating voice, his acute observations granting authenticity to the bullet-speed pace of the story. Newspaperman Willie Black is masterfully created, ink and dark humor coursing through his hardboiled veins. It is hoped that this is the beginning of a series of books staring Willie and crew. Bring on the sequel!" - NY Journal of Books
"A colorful reporter who is a sardonic spectator. The wrong perpetrator charged. The reporter saves the day. You probably think you’ve read this story before. But you would be wrong. This is so much better than those other books you might have read. Author Howard Owen is a brilliant observer of people. Set in Richmondin the dying world of print newspapers, this first person narrative is Southern investigative noir at its finest. I love the dialogue. It has that rare combination of being both plot and character driven, an infrequent amalgamation in most books." - Killer Nashville
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781579622084 |
| PRICE | $28.00 (USD) |
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