Big Money, Small Town
A Ryan Tapia Novel
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- Pedido anticipado
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- Se espera: 2 jun 2026
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- $349.00
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- Pedido anticipado
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- $349.00
Descripción editorial
In this gripping and dynamic thriller, former FBI agent Ryan Tapia finds himself ensnared in the complex interplay of power, politics, environmental degradation, and resistance at a cobalt mine in Maine.
While building his career as a private investigator in the Maine countryside, Ryan Tapia takes the case of Dr. Ed Healey, a local physician suffering from an acute case of cobalt poisoning. A mine has recently opened in Pushaw county, extracting the valuable minerals needed for batteries in electronic devices and electric cars. But a deadly “Fan” of poison is seeping out . . .
But there are dark legacies in Pushaw that go back to the Salem witch trials and the community on nearby Witch Island, where the Thornfoot family is turning the tables and exploiting the vagaries of modern life for their own ends.
On the cusp of finding his personal happiness once more, Tapia is caught in the middle of this vortex of manipulation and money, desperation and deceit. Neighbors turn on one another and the people of Pushaw risk becoming as deadly to one another as the industrial poison simmering beneath the surface.
In Big Money, Small Town, Thomas Ricks has crafted a nuanced and enthralling novel that challenges our understandings of money and influence in every facet of modern life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Maine FBI agent Ryan Tapia squares off against environmental injustice in Pulitzer winner Ricks's grim and gripping follow-up to We Can't Save You. When a mining company prospecting for cobalt spreads cash around the municipal offices of small towns in Pushaw County, the consequences are fatal. The Salmon River fills with dead fish, and angler Ed Healy falls ill, with subsequent tests revealing massive heavy metal poisoning in the water. As Ed's health declines, he contacts Tapia, who seizes on the opportunity to distract from his grief over the death, four years earlier, of his wife and child. As the poison spreads across Pushaw County, an ambitious young reporter publicizes the ensuing spate of health problems, and Tapia pursues a connection with the cobalt operation. When Maine's governor—an old flame of Tapia's—warns him off the case, she lets slip that the amount of money at stake means those responsible might be willing to kill to keep things quiet. Thomas establishes a stark contrast between the faceless mining company and the tight-knit communities it affects, resulting in a somewhat didactic but chilling procedural rooted in the dark realities of corporate power. It's a sobering crime saga.
