The Wheat Field
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The sinister secrets of Kickapoo FallsREVIEW BY C.L. ROSSIt has been said that you can tell a lot about a person by who they love. Deputy Pennington, featured in Steve Thayer's fifth novel, The Wheat Field, loves Maggie Butler. The same Maggie that is found nude and murdered, along with her husband, in a local farmer's wheat field. The murder of this prominent couple takes place in the summer of 1960 in the small town of Kickapoo Falls, Wisconsin. Kickapoo Falls is a rural area of fertile farm land and dairies. Tourists and hunters are attracted to the region because of the popular Dells, a 15-mile stretch of the Wisconsin River with enchanting cliffs and canyons. It's also the home of the exclusive Kickapoo Gunn Club, whose membership is restricted to the social and political elite. For a seemingly bucolic town, Kickapoo Falls has more than its share of violence and political intrigue. Deputy Pennington's unrequited love for the bewitching Maggie, however, is no secret; he has had a love-hate relationship with her since their shared childhood. Nor is he the only person to become obsessed with the seductive Maggie. His determination to find Maggie's killer never wavers, even though he may be in danger of losing his career, and possibly his life, since not everyone in town would like to see this crime solved. Pennington narrates his story in a series of flashbacks pertaining to the crime and, although he gradually reveals details about himself, he remains largely a mysterious character. Thayer is a skillful storyteller. He deftly switches the action between time periods and events, and the suspenseful plot is steeped in secrets and sizzling sex. The tension will keep you on your toes until the climactic end. In The Wheat Field -- a tale filled with treachery and lechery -- our protagonist ponders the question: Can you watch people act badly and yet remain good yourself? Steve Thayer has the compelling answer. C. L. Ross reads, writes and reviews in Pismo Beach, California.
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