Above the Falls

by John Harris

In May 1936, George Dalziel flew far up the Nahanni River to check on Bill Eppler and Joe Mulholland, who were working one of his traplines. He found their cabin burned to the ground and no sign of them anywhere. What had happened to the healthy young men? Had there been an accident, or was a killer on the loose? Dalziel, known as The Flying Trapper, had a successful trapping operation along the Flat, South Nahanni and Liard rivers. Using his small airplane to locate areas rich in marten and beaver, he would leave his men in this wild country and drop in from time to time to check on them and fly out the pelts. The authorities wanted to shut Dal down. So when he saw the burned-down cabin, he knew he was in trouble. In this suspenseful, fact-based novel, John Harris uses RCMP reports and the testimony of local trappers to paint a vivid picture of a gripping winter chase, an unsolved mystery and a now-vanished lifestyle in the great northern wilderness.

Genres: Historical Fiction

227 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2007

About the author

John[13 spaces]Harris

Reviews

[Trent Shepard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story is actually super interesting, but it’s written in such a convoluted way that I couldn’t keep up. Way too many characters, way too many place names, and way too many switches in narration.

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting story. Not the mystery that the cover implies it is, but I still found it fascinating. It was very interesting to learn how men would spend many months alone or with a partner trapping or prospecting in these spectacular remote locations, of which today is Nahanni National Park Reserve. The writing is a bit dull - not as captivating as I hoped, but a very interesting (true) tale of the past.

[cody mayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very intense and interesting read

[Tyler Howe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes you just have to walk away, kind of a dumb book.

[Maggie the Muskoka Library Mouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short book, this was a look at a long-ago way of doing things. The characters were all based on fact, so they were very relatable.

Favourite Quotes:
"It was the old dream that he could never shake, that made him fear sleep."

"I'll stay in bed for a week, he thought. Give my luck some time to change."

"If you couldn't make a living you could at least have an adventure."

"If you break it a few times and get away with it, you keep on breaking it." (Clark to Kraus on the law)

"Not a death certificate, but in this country what usually amounted to the same thing: a missing- persons report."