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Wasteland of Strangers |
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 Wasteland of Strangers byBill Pronzini Walker Publishing 257 pages, 1999 ISBN 0802775608 Reviewed by Madeline Mora-Summonte From the moment John Faith drove his old, beat-up Porsche into the little town of Pomo, California, the residents were already sizing him up. Harry Richmond, the owner of the Lakeside Resort, didn't like Faith from the start, thought he was big and mean. The town seductress, Storm Carey, found Faith's ugliness attractive, dangerous. Police Chief Richard Novak noticed Faith's "hammered-down face and hard, bunched features" but didn't think there was anything suspicious about the stranger. Over the next few days, the town of Pomo explodes with violence. John Faith is the main suspect when a resident of the town is brutally murdered. But did he do it? Is he responsible for some of the other recent crimes – a break-in and an attempted rape - that have happened since his arrival? Or is he merely the catalyst for events that are beyond his control? During Faith's stay in Pomo, there will be theft, attempted murder, aiding and abetting, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, divorce, lies told and secrets revealed. Pomo is rocked to its very core and, when it all finally settles down, the town and its residents will never be the same. Author Bill Pronzini masterfully handles the story’s numerous characters with their alternating points of view and weaves it all into one tense, suspenseful tale. There are characters you will meet and fall in love with, root for, cry for, despise. Lust, fear, frustration, and anger are simmering from the first page and boiling over by the end. You'll turn the last page, think you have all the answers and believe you've left the town of Pomo for good - only to have A Wasteland of Strangers linger in your mind and leave you wondering. Who really is the stranger? |
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