Items related to The Big Thaw (Carl Houseman)
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.
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.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
Don't let the title of this dry suspense novel fool you. It's very cold in January in Iowa, the setting for Donald Harstad's third outing in his series featuring Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman and his partner Hester Gorse. The only thing mild is the humor in this spare procedural, which involves the usual turf battle between the white hats (local law enforcement) and the black hats (the FBI) as a sidebar to the main plot. Instead of the mean streets and criminal underclass of urban thrillers, we get the militant extremists who frequent the vast, empty reaches of the Midwest. In this case, the black hats are onto the crazies, and the local good guy, Deputy Carl, is caught in the crossfire. The crazies want enough money to blow the heartland (who wouldn't, in January?), and to get it, they're prepared to blow up Iowa's biggest economic asset, a riverboat casino on the Mississippi. They're being manipulated by a chief crazy (or maybe an arch crazy) named Gabriel, and (naturally) the feds have been a few steps behind Gabriel for a while now. Deputy Carl is a nice guy, but irony is not his strong suit, and he's not particularly fast on the uptake, either. Eventually he does save the day in this somewhat pedestrian and slow-motion regional mystery. If you liked the movie Fargo, you'll love The Big Thaw. --Jane Adams
From the Back Cover:
"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
-- 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
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherBantam
- Publication date2001
- ISBN 10 0553583034
- ISBN 13 9780553583038
- BindingMass Market Paperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages416
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 6.06
Shipping:
US$ 2.64
Within U.S.A.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Seller Image
Buy New
US$ 6.06
Convert currency
Seller Image
The Big Thaw (Carl Houseman) by Harstad, Donald [Mass Market Paperback ]
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780553583038
Buy New
US$ 8.71
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Big Thaw: 3 (Carl Houseman)
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: New. No Jacket. 1st Paperback Edition. New with slightly faded pages, first paperback edition, first printing, full number line, no remainder marks. Ships in a box, fast service from a real bricks and mortar independent bookseller open since 1998. Seller Inventory # 010141
Buy New
US$ 9.00
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Big Thaw Format: MassMarket
Published by
Penguin Random House
(2001)
ISBN 10: 0553583034
ISBN 13: 9780553583038
New
Softcover
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 9780553583038
Buy New
US$ 5.80
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Big Thaw (Carl Houseman)
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition 0.44. Seller Inventory # bk0553583034xvz189zvxnew
Buy New
US$ 12.96
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Big Thaw (Carl Houseman)
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published 0.44. Seller Inventory # 353-0553583034-new
Buy New
US$ 12.96
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Big Thaw (Paperback)
Published by
Random House USA Inc, New York
(2001)
ISBN 10: 0553583034
ISBN 13: 9780553583038
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 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. After the bodies of two brothers are found in a shed, killed by bullets from a Russian automatic, Nation County, Iowa Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman knows that their lead suspect is the wrong guy. He also knows this is something bigger than a burglary gone bad--especially when the FBI shows up. The brutal double homicide is just the tip of the iceberg in this case. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780553583038
Buy New
US$ 12.99
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Big Thaw
Published by
Random House
(2001)
ISBN 10: 0553583034
ISBN 13: 9780553583038
New
Softcover
Quantity: 3
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 26803629
Buy New
US$ 9.96
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Big Thaw (Carl Houseman)
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new0553583034
Buy New
US$ 20.85
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Big Thaw (Carl Houseman)
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0553583034
Buy New
US$ 21.62
Convert currency