CALICO
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4.5 • 24 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg, comes an explosive, page-turning investigative thriller - with a mind-blowing twist.
There's a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert . . .
The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away.
But it's the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge . . . and a shot at redemption.
Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance.
His fate, all those years ago, and hers today are linked when Beth investigates an old skeleton dug up in a shallow, sandy grave . . . and also tries to identify a vagrant run-over by a distracted motorhome driver during a lightning storm.
Every disturbing clue she finds, every shocking discovery she makes, force Beth to confront her own troubled past . . . and a past that's not her own . . . until it all smashes together in a revelation that could change the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The latest standalone from Goldberg (after Malibu Burning) is disappointingly void of the cleverness that animates his best work. Homicide detective Beth McDade lost her job with the LAPD after sleeping with a junior officer and ended up in Barstow, Calif., a backwater town in the Inland Empire with a bad reputation among law enforcement. After a long stretch of unsatisfying cases, McDade finally gets a challenge when a man is fatally stricken by an RV. The driver responsible claims that he was distracted by a lightning storm that no one else saw, which allegedly coincided with an explosion at a military base near the highway, and didn't see the victim, who ran in front of the RV screaming, until it was too late. The reason for those screams is just one of many mysteries pertaining to the victim, who was dressed in clothes from a century earlier and had dental work that appeared to date back to the late 19th century. It's an intriguing setup, and Goldberg keeps readers invested for a while, but the explanations McDade reaches are profoundly unsatisfying. Worse still is the lack of memorable characters. Even Goldberg's diehard fans will be disappointed.
Customer Reviews
Surprising Gem
This book was a real surprise treat. Well conceived and written.