Let Him Go
A Novel
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3.9 • 34 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A retired sheriff and his wife go after their young grandson in “a fast-paced story of marital love, family violence and small-town justice” (Pioneer Press).
It’s been years since George and Margaret Blackledge lost their son James, and months since his widow, Lorna, took off with their only grandson and married Donnie Weboy. Margaret is resolved to find and retrieve the boy—while George is none too eager to stir up trouble. Soon, the Blackledges find themselves entangled with the entire Weboy clan, who are determined not to give up the boy without a fight.
The author of Montana 1948 returns to big sky country in midcentury America with a riveting novel pervaded with a sense of menace that “traces the desperate lengths families will go to in order to protect their own” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
“Watson evokes the deepest kind of suspense: that based upon the fact that humans are unpredictable and perhaps ultimately unknowable—even to their most intimate associates. This fierce, tense book is beautifully written, with spare and economical prose . . . A brilliant achievement.” —Alice LaPlante, New York Times–bestselling author of Turn of Mind
“An outstanding work that is sure to expand Watson’s audience of devoted readers. Not to be missed.” —Library Journal (starred review)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A consummate chronicler of the American West, Watson (American Boy) sets his slyly suspenseful, highly engaging new novel in the early 1950s in rural Dalton, N.Dak., where George Blackledge, a retired sheriff, returns home to find his wife Margaret packing to leave with or without him. She's embarking on an honorable, valiant journey to reclaim her young grandson Jimmy from Lorna, the widow of her tragically deceased son, and Lorna's sketchy new husband, Donnie Weboy. Margaret, who witnessed but didn't immediately act on the couple's cruelty toward Jimmy, is sure that he deserves better than Donnie and Lorna. George joins his determined wife for the long road trip across the Dakota Badlands into Montana, where they become embroiled in the violence of the Weboy clan, beginning with tense negotiations with Donnie's foul-mouthed father, who compares Margaret's "pretty bird" appearance to the "hard bark" of George's. Margaret wants desperately for Lorna to return with them to Dalton with Jimmy in tow, but the ever-intimidating Weboys and their nasty extended family network have other plans for everyone involved and put up a bloody fight until George turns the tables in the nail-biting denouement. Known for crisp images, resonant backdrops, and sharp characterizations drawn without flashy over-accessorizing, Watson's latest traces the desperate lengths families will go to in order to protect their own.
Customer Reviews
Let Him go
So very good.