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The Blue Place (Aud Torvingen #1)

by Nicola Griffith (Goodreads Author)

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 849 ratings · 74 reviews

A police lieutenant with the elite "Red Dogs" until she retired at twenty-nine, Aud Torvigen is a rangy six-footer with eyes the color of cement and a tendency to hurt people who get in her way. Born in Norway into the failed marriage between a Scandinavian diplomat and an American businessman, she now makes Atlanta her home, luxuriating in the lush heat and brashness of t...more

Paperback, 308 pages

Published June 1st 1999 by William Morrow Paperbacks (first published July 1st 1998)

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Apr 24, 2009 Mfred rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: queer, mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable this book is to read. Normally, I'm not into the suspense/mystery genre, but Griffith builds more of a noir feeling, a la James Ellroy, than the typical whodunnit bestsellers.

The descriptive language is much more lush and lyrical than Ellroy, but I found it just as evocative and compelling as his works. I loved the main character, Aud, and how she interacts with her locations- being in Atlanta or Norway brings out different parts of her character. I a...more I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable this book is to read. Normally, I'm not into the suspense/mystery genre, but Griffith builds more of a noir feeling, a la James Ellroy, than the typical whodunnit bestsellers.

The descriptive language is much more lush and lyrical than Ellroy, but I found it just as evocative and compelling as his works. I loved the main character, Aud, and how she interacts with her locations- being in Atlanta or Norway brings out different parts of her character. I also loved the way Griffith plays different sides and tones throughout-- violence is portrayed as both shockingly out of place and terribly mundane/realistic. Aud is emotionally vulnerable but physically impenetrable or unbeatable. Etc. Etc.

I think the only downside to the book is how quickly and completely Aud falls in love with Julia. Its simply too quick and too out-of-character for someone who is portrayed as being just this side of a psychotic criminal. Also, the "I just met you but I'm completely in love" thing is kind of an obvious plot device, and boring to read. Once Aud is in love, I totally knew the Big and Bad end was coming, even if I didn't figure out all of the details. Its like watching a horror movie-- don't go into the basement when the creepy music is playing! Don't make me sympathize with a damaged and difficult character for two-thirds of a novel only to take the easy way out thro the Power of Luuuurve (& Subsequent Doom for Luuurvers) at the start of the final act.

Also, the sex was a bit on the fluffy side for my taste. Too much symbolism, not enough hawt sexxin. I want a lesbian relationship portrayed just as graphically, as erotically, as steamy, as the hetero-normative romance novels portray "straight" sex. Its a political thang, I can't help it.

However, even if I finished the book slightly disappointed, and also had my queer sensibilities slightly riled, the character of Aud has stayed with me since reading it. I crave knowing more about her, am semi-desperate to continue reading the series, and found myself unable to read anything else for thinking about Aud. Butch, mysterious, violent, Norwegian-- I kind of love her.
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Nov 30, 2008 AJ rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book, and its sequel Stay, rock the house. The heroine is a six foot tall Norwegian woman, ex-cop and current independent operator who is always thinking of how anyone who approaches her might try to kill her, what objects around her she can turn into weapons and how she would kill them first. You learn why she thinks this way in the book and it certainly makes her worldview seem sensible. She's scary, but very, very intriguing. And super hot. :) If you are looking for an imaginary lesbian...more

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May 11, 2013 Voronwer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, girl-love, series, brains-off

When it comes to lesbian romance novels, this one actually falls on the good side of things. It's not just about the physical attraction, instant romance thing. There's plot here that the author actually thought through and works pretty well. The tension is good, the story is enjoyable, the characters are likeable. In short, it's an entertaining read and you won't feel like you wasted your time at the end of the book.

Still, it's not high literature, but I'm assuming that's not what you're lookin...more When it comes to lesbian romance novels, this one actually falls on the good side of things. It's not just about the physical attraction, instant romance thing. There's plot here that the author actually thought through and works pretty well. The tension is good, the story is enjoyable, the characters are likeable. In short, it's an entertaining read and you won't feel like you wasted your time at the end of the book.

Still, it's not high literature, but I'm assuming that's not what you're looking for when you get to this review page. The main flaws are easily summed up. They're not too bad and didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book, but they did grate at some points:

1) The prose. If you're going for a first person pov, the language should be believable. A lot of Aud's inner dialogue just isn't. No way will anyone think like that. Especially the similes can turn out to be rather embarrassing and downright silly. There is a whole conversation too where Aud tells about something that happened in her past and just no way does anyone describe anything like that. I do think it happens less and less as the story continues, but it can really pull you out of your immersion when such a silly description pops up.
2) I'm pretty much repeating what most people said: Aud is just too much of a Mary Sue. She can do anything and do it well and do it better than you. And conveniently explains it in her inner monologue so you can keep up with her.
3) Violence. A reviewer said that once you get on in the story, you would truly understand why Aud is as violent as she is. I honestly don't think it's ever explained and I can't relate to how much enjoyment she gets from the violence she performs. It's jarring at moments and makes it harder to relate to the character at those points. I don't know if it's me or a failure on the side of the author to make me understand it. It does make it so that the ending of the book is plausible and completely in character, but it doesn't help me like the character more. On the other hand, it didn't make me hate them either, it just felt a bit absurd at times.(less)

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Sep 20, 2011 Rachel Neumeier rated it 5 of 5 stars

So, THE BLUE PLACE, by Nicola Griffith. I could imagine it shelved with mysteries or with thrillers, but I'd say it's a mystery -- with suspense and some violence and a beautifully handled romance.

The way Griffith handled the violent scenes was amazing, I just loved the stream-of-consciousness thing, like here:

"It unfolded like a stop-motion film of a blooming rose: bright, beautiful and blindingly fast. And I wanted to laugh as I ducked and lunged; wanted to sing as I sank my fist wrist deep in...more So, THE BLUE PLACE, by Nicola Griffith. I could imagine it shelved with mysteries or with thrillers, but I'd say it's a mystery -- with suspense and some violence and a beautifully handled romance.

The way Griffith handled the violent scenes was amazing, I just loved the stream-of-consciousness thing, like here:

"It unfolded like a stop-motion film of a blooming rose: bright, beautiful and blindingly fast. And I wanted to laugh as I ducked and lunged; wanted to sing as I sank my fist wrist deep in an abdomen, whipped an elbow up, up through a fragile jawbown, slid to the side of a thrusting arm and took it, turning it, levering up, letting the body follow in an ungraceful arc. . . . Body under my hands folding to the floor, not moving. Nothing moving but me, feeling vast and brilliant with strength, immeasurable and immortal."

Wow. I mean, wow. Look at that super-long sentence in the middle, doesn’t that just PULL you through the action? Whoosh! How about that reaction to violence: isn’t this a wonderful character? The protagonist, Aud Torvingen, could be a very scary person, couldn’t she? Turns out that’s why she’s an EX-cop, because for her violence has so much potential to be addictive. But the violence doesn’t scare us, because we’ve already seen, in an earlier episode, that she is also kind — kind when it’s not necessary, not fundamentally important to her; kind to people who aren’t (initially) at all attractive.

The love story central to the story is lesbian, let me just say, in case that’s a plus or a minus for you. It is handled matter-of-factly, with not a trace of that I’m-so-progressive-look-at-my-lesbian-character attitude that I think is pretty common. None of that angst-y gushy hormone-ridden thing that I’m so tired of, either. The sex is not too explicit and does not take over the book, which was good news for me. I loathe books where there are so many explicit, detailed sex scenes that there’s no time for anything to, you know, actually HAPPEN, and the plot withers away.

There is a lot more time devoted to the central romance than to the violent scenes. I personally loved the slow, smooth development of the romance and did not long in any way for more action through those scenes.

For me, mysteries are all about character and setting. Plot and the actual mystery are much less important. That’s good in this book because I did figure out who the shadowy mysterious bad guy was long before the protagonist did. (I wasn’t trying. It just made literary sense that this would be the bad guy. To be fair, Aud also wasn’t really trying. She didn’t really care until close to the end.)

The writing throughout is just exquisite. It’s a book to read slowly, savoring every line. It makes me think of Francine Prose’s book READING LIKE A WRITER, which is all about how much you can learn from reading slowly and attentively.

Great book.(less)

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Jun 24, 2011 Amy Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Four stars may be a little generous, but I have learned to set the bar low for lesbian fiction -- and based on that, this could even merit five stars. Even so, I genuinely enjoyed this book, so even if it weren't lesbian fiction, I'd probably give it the four stars (though I wish there were half-stars available).

The book is well-written enough that the writing doesn't get in the way of the story, which is something I've come to appreciate. The story is good; I enjoyed the ride. Spoiler alert: it...more

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Dec 07, 2010 Kirsty Darbyshire added it

I've been looking forward to this book, and this author, for a long time as I've heard high praise of them from people I trust to have good taste in stories. And I'd saved the book up for holiday reading so I was almost expecting to be disappointed. I wasn't disappointed.

Griffith brings characters to life in realistic ways, her main character Aud Torvingen is supposed to be quite a cool headed character and could easily have come over as cardboardy even with first person narration to show us th

...more

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Dec 12, 2008 fleegan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: thrillers

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 12, 2013 Christine Thrasher rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think I would have rather read this book from another character's perspective, or done with less cockiness. It felt like reading lesbian erotica. This sort of fantasy lesbian who kicks ass and works outside and with furniture and who can also look bangin' in a cocktail dress... plays pool, could have any woman, has a bunch of money... yadda yadda. It's like someone's private sexual fantasy that they decided to make into a novel. Also very 90's dated. Even in spite of that, once I started to fe...more

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Sep 07, 2009 jo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller, queer

this is a muscular piece of fiction. aud torvingen is a tall norwegian-now-american ex-cop living in atlanta who currently does high-profile security work. because of some inheritance (don't remember the details) she doesn't actually need to work, but there is a dark dark side of her that is attracted to violence. she sublimates it by practicing and teaching karate, which she has elevated to an art and a lifestyle, without losing for a second the awareness of its deadliness. she also carves wood...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Olduvai rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, 2011

Aud rhymes with shroud. Aud rhymes with proud.

Aud Torvingen is a hell of a character. She’s six feet tall of toughness, danger, ass-kicking, emotionally complex, Scandinavian blondness. A Norwegian expat living in Atlanta, Georgia, Torvingen consults for the police (she’s an ex-cop), works as a bodyguard, teaches self-defense, crafts her own furniture, tends her garden, and constantly thinks about the best way to kill someone.

And I lapped all this no-nonsense up. In a move uncharacteristic of me...more Aud rhymes with shroud. Aud rhymes with proud.

Aud Torvingen is a hell of a character. She’s six feet tall of toughness, danger, ass-kicking, emotionally complex, Scandinavian blondness. A Norwegian expat living in Atlanta, Georgia, Torvingen consults for the police (she’s an ex-cop), works as a bodyguard, teaches self-defense, crafts her own furniture, tends her garden, and constantly thinks about the best way to kill someone.

And I lapped all this no-nonsense up. In a move uncharacteristic of me, I read my way straight through Nicola Griffith’s three Aud outings – The Blue Place, Stay, and Always. (Perhaps a new goal for 2012? Just read! That is, why save to savour? Why not savour now?!)

It is difficult to talk about the plots of these three books without spoilers. So essentially it’s a crime series. Not that Aud is a PI or anything, rather, these cases seem to sniff her out. So with most crime/mystery series, there are dead bodies and women of interest (both in terms of the case as well as romantic interest).

One of the biggest surprises that these books had for me were Griffith’s way with places. A very plenty surprise for an armchair traveler like me. Aud travels home to Norway. It is gorgeous. Griffith makes me want to visit.

“It’s a land that doesn’t compromise. It’s snow, ice and darkness in the winter; and endless midnight sun, bright meadow flower and sweet green grass for two months in the summer. Black or white. On or off. Yes or no. It explains some of the way you react to what life throws at you, the pragmatic immediacy, the readiness – you never forget that there are trolls in the hills.”

I was especially taken with Vigeland Park, filled with sculptures by Gustav Vigeland.

“‘Why do you suppose his work was so large?’ she said to herself as we descended the steps slowly. She stopped before the woman washing another woman’s hair. ‘It’s intimate, almost sexual, and yet quite ordinary. I suppose that’s what he was trying to say: everything is ordinary.’

‘He was saying everything in life is special. Every moment is a gift.’”

Griffith’s way with places makes me even want to visit North Carolina, a place that has not been on my list of must-sees. But she describes the woods in which Aud crafts her cabin so mesmerisingly, that I feel a desperate need to step outside, to stand under the shade of a big leafy tree (wrong season I know!), to inhale some fresh air.

“From the roof of my cabin I can see only forest, an endless canopy of pecan and hickory, ash and beech and sugar maple. Wind flows through the trees and down the mountain, and the clearing seems like nothing but a step in a great green waterfall. Even the freshly split shingles make me think of water. Cedar is an aromatic wood; warmed by the autumn sunlight of a late North Carolina afternoon, it smells ancient and exotic, like the spice-laden hold of a quinquereme of Nineveh. It would be easy to close my eyes and imagine a long ago ocean cut by oars – water whispering along the hull, the taste of spray…”

Hard as nails. I’m not sure if I’ve ever used that phrase before but it is exceptionally suited to Aud Torvingen (If there were a film version, I would imagine that Tilda Swinton would be quite suited to the part). But it’s not all about kicks and asses and ass-kicking, Aud is a character who grows, learns, develops, who eventually becomes a different person from the one you first imagine her to be. And yet she manages to stay true to herself. Aud is quite unforgettable.(less)

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Sep 19, 2010 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Karen by: Elizabeth's Goodsreads

Aud is too good to be true, and even if I laughed out loud many times at her too-goodness, it was delicious to inhabit the days of this disturbing lesbian-chick Übermensch. I could have done without the plot, which somehow seemed beside-the-point; I think the author knew it was a necessary machinery for bringing violence into the story, and it showed. All I know is that while I was reading I wanted desperatly to be an expert woodworker with a natural instinct for killing. But Aud takes a joy in...more

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Nov 09, 2012 Shivanee (Novel Niche) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, novel-niche-full-reviews

Excerpted from the full review:

"I made a pretty terrible joke with myself when I began drafting notes for this review. I said “Hmm. Aud Torvingen is like an Atalanta from Atlanta!” Were you to read The Blue Place, though, you might agree with me that the comparison between Aud and Atalanta is more than a little on the nose. They’re both light on their feet; they both refuse to comply with notions of what a ‘proper woman’ should do, think or resemble. That said, I’d rather chase Aud than a golden...more Excerpted from the full review:

"I made a pretty terrible joke with myself when I began drafting notes for this review. I said “Hmm. Aud Torvingen is like an Atalanta from Atlanta!” Were you to read The Blue Place, though, you might agree with me that the comparison between Aud and Atalanta is more than a little on the nose. They’re both light on their feet; they both refuse to comply with notions of what a ‘proper woman’ should do, think or resemble. That said, I’d rather chase Aud than a golden apple because, well… Aud Torvingen is hot. Of Nordic ancestry, the six-footed former elite police officer no longer needs commission work to support herself financially, but accepts certain jobs for the challenge and curiosity they inspire. It would be untrue to say that she doesn’t think too much of a late-night run-in on an Inman Park sidewalk with a woman whose hair smells of fresh rainshowers. She does, even though she knows the woman she encountered can’t have set the building behind her to bursts of flames. The curious night that gives rise to these disjointedly-connected events persists: the woman turns another corner into Aud’s life, asking for the kind of assistance that Torvingen has (perhaps unfortunately) become all too skilled at giving.

If you declare that you love violence for the purity of it, odds are that you will find yourself alone at the buffet table, but the singular protagonist of Griffith’s novel would understand what you mean. There is an electric pulse to the concerns and rhythms of the human body in the writer’s prose: all these ways that we can bend, shatter, solder ourselves back together with far fewer implements than one might think. In the pauses of a conversation with Julia Lyons-Bennet, Aud considers what the woman at her side thinks of excitement, and, by extension, of danger.

“Danger… means suspending consideration and just being, acting and reacting, moving through a world where everything but you cools and slows down so you can glide between the blows and bullets and take out someone’s heart. Danger is desperately seductive.”

What’s laudable about Griffith’s sculpting of Torvingen is that her past extends far behind her, like a trail whose former rest-stops are only visible when she shares them. Her character is written with the uncomfortable heft of too-muchness — too much messiness, too many close calls, too few safe places. The sanctuaries we think of as inviolable are often a hair’s breadth away from being gutted, Aud reminds us. She reinforces this hard lesson as much by what she muses to herself, as by the string of events that set the narrative to a blistering string of causalities."

You can continue reading my review of The Blue Place at Novel Niche.(less)

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Nov 03, 2012 Melody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comfort-read, favorites

11/2012 The last time I read this book I didn't register that there's a whole paragraph devoted to Hild of Whitby. This time, because I read Griffith's blog and I know she's working on a huge book about Hild, it leapt out at me and I grinned.

It's hard to write about this one without spoilers, because so much of it concerns how situations affect Aud, how her authentic self plays hide and seek, and how the events form the chains they do. The prose is spectacular throughout.

6/2009 I love this boo...more

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Aug 22, 2007 Wildlx rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a character-driven book which starts as an investigation and then becomes an emotional journey for the main character Aud Torvingen. The first person narrative typical of this genre works very well for such a complex character as Aud. She has a perceptive and analytical view of the world and seems to keep everything under control. This is reflected in the prose which is also very precise and analytical. However, she is simultaneously a sensitive person, appreciative of the simple and nat...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Dawn Bellville rated it 5 of 5 stars

Aud Torvingen is someone you not only want to know, you need to know. She is the quintessential controller and yet, totally out of control. Nicola has masterfully crafted this character. Nicola has also masterfully brought to life the surroundings and places that Aud walks through on her journey of life. If you have been looking for something quite different, I suggest you give this a try. And if you really like it, there's two sequels that follow. Bravo Ms. Griffith...Bravo.

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May 23, 2012 mstan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, src-summer-2012

Griffith is great at communicating a sense of place - whether it's the fjords of Norway or the humidity of Atlanta she is describing. This read easily, with a flow to the violence that is hypnotically poetic.

I felt that the plot was a little messy though - bits and pieces of this and that were woven into Aud's narrative as she hurtled from escorting a shy Spaniard daughter-of-a-Minister to advertising agencies to her nightmares to flying over the Atlantic with her new-found mate. The mystery was...more

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Aug 10, 2010 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The tagliine for this book reads "a novel of suspense". It should read " a lesbian romance sheathed in brutal violence and gobs of unending exposition."
I hemmed and hawed between two and three stars and what tipped the scale were the well written and paced scenes of action, violence and seduction; Griffith does not rush headlong into situations, slowly dragging the reader in.
You will also learn more about Norwiegian history, geography and fjiord formations than you care to know and this is where...more

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Mar 20, 2009 Brooke rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, thriller

I unexpectedly devoured this book over the course of a day, so I guess I really liked it. I don't normally read thrillers because I am tired of reading them from the point of view of some wise-cracking white guy who is ex-military or some such thing. Aud is a pretty fabulous protagonist and precisely the reason I loved this book. Griffith's profound ability to nail a moment with fantastic descriptions didn't hurt either.

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Jul 29, 2008 Matthew Gatheringwater rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Smilla's Sense of Snow

Shelves: mystery

Immediately after reading Uncle Silas--a book featuring a female protagonist of remarkable passivity--I craved reading about a woman as different as possible. I was successful in my choice.

The Blue Place features Aud, an ex-cop, self-defense expert, and butch lesbian hottie who walks the sultry streets of Atlanta casually speculating about how to kill everyone she meets--even the beautiful woman with nice-smelling hair she discovers fleeing the scene of a particularly nasty arson.

The attention N...more

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Mar 12, 2012 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this series. The narrator is at best a bit odd, usually vaguely unlikeable, and at worst seems borderline sociopathic. I got the 2nd book in the series from the library without realizing it was in a series, and even though that was definitely 3-stars as well that didn't deter me from seeing what the first book would be like.

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May 19, 2012 Natasha rated it 5 of 5 stars

F***ing incredible. The end will leave you sitting in shock. Then you'll read it again, and call the person who recommended it and beg them to tell you that it did not end really end like that. Then you'll curse the author's name. Then you'll buy the other two books in the series.

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Jul 26, 2012 Tiffany added it

Shelves: personal-favorites

The attention to detail with which Nicola Griffith writes is incredible. Even when the intricate web of suspense began to die down, her wonderful use of imagery had me devouring every word. I loved this book from beginning to end, every heartbreaking moment.

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Feb 06, 2011 Jeremy Preacher rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction

I was totally on board with this until I figured out how it was going to end. While I really enjoyed Aud as a character, it just left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I know by now to avoid all gay fiction written in the 90s.

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Jul 28, 2009 Josephine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: just-for-fun

I really liked the way things ended. I mean, it wasn't your average "sail away into the sunset"-happy ending. But sometimes it got a little too corny for my taste. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the read.

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Sep 13, 2008 J rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: fiction

Nicola Griffith is hands down my favorite lesbian author.
She sucks you into the story within the first paragraph and holds you willingly hostage until the last word is read.
And she makes you beg for more...

The Blue Place is the first of three books in a series with Aud Torvingen (rhymes with crowd) as the main character. Aud is a citizen of both Norway and the US, former-police-turned-P.I. She's over 6' tall, butch, physically fit and knows how to kick arse.

If you read The Blue Place, you wil...more

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Jun 05, 2010 Candace rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: women-by-or-about, mysteries, lgbti, romance, my-ebooks, genre

Very well written lesbian mystery/romance. The main character seemed a bit too perfect to me, but the author humanized her and created a fairly believable character. The story began in Georgia but took an odd detour to Norway, but again, the author made it work. It wasn't hard to deduce — far sooner than the protagonist — who dunnit, but at least that was a logical conclusion.

Ambiance and description were excellent. I very much enjoyed reading this story.

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Jun 27, 2012 Aisha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Beautifully written. Brought me to years. I wanted the story to end differently, but that never took away from the magic of this fantastic crime, romance, thriller.

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Sep 23, 2010 Marisela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fantastic writing. No wasted space. Adventure, passion, mystery and humor...not to mention the intriguing and beautiful lesbian protag.

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Aug 07, 2010 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I picked this book up after finishing "Slow River" by the same author. It is the first in a series and I have just finished the first two ("Stay" is next). Nicola Giffith has created a female character I would consider leaving my husband for. Aud (rhymes with loud) is such an over-the-top heroine in this noirish read that I laughed aloud a few times at all of her skills and attributes: tall, strong, smart, wealthy, confident, complex. An ex-cop turned body guard, glacier climber, furniture maker...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Trixie Fontaine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-books-consumed, i-want-more-like-these

Reason I read it: it kept getting recommended to me, and then I realized a book I have on my shelf that I grabbed out of the free box is the second in this series, so . . . yeah.

I didn't start to love this until 75% of the way through it, partly because I was expecting something else. Surprisingly (to me), it really grew on me as the romance came to the forefront.

There were things about this book that were incredibly dorky to me, and others incredibly awesome - it's like it tried too hard to be...more

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About Nicola Griffith

Nicola Griffith has won the Nebula Award, the James Tiptree, Jr. Memorial Award, the World Fantasy Award, and six Lambda Literary Awards. She is also the co-editor of the Bending the Landscape series of anthologies. Her newest novel, Hild, will be published fall 2013. She lives in Seattle with her partner, writer Kelley Eskridge.

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