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Loni Wagner Western Mysteries #1
The Truck Comes on Thursday
"Plot twists, romance, hope, and despair all come together in this gut-wrenching, tear-jerking, hope-raising tale of romance and mystery. This book is a wonderful addition to any romance or mystery collection as well as for those interested in reading about police work, Native American culture, and a touch of Arizona history."
American Library Association GLBT Round Table review
The loss of her partner and lover in the line of duty sends LA Detective Loni Wagner back to the safe life of her Arizona hometown. She takes a night patrol shift on empty desert roads expecting quiet, peace, no stress--except for the plane wreck in a graveyard, dead bodies, a serial rapist, human smugglers, a tornado, drug runners, and rustling and vandalism on her grandparents' ranch. Despite a sexist police chief who dumps the difficult situations on her, Loni finds time to make friends. But it's Lola, the department dispatcher, who catches her eye.
Is Loni too wounded to accept her losses and love again? Or will she figure out what coming home can really mean?
"Some people are born storytellers. This author certainly is. In her first Loni Wagner mystery, Sue Hardesty draws the reader into much more than plot or whodunit."
Lee Lynch, award-winning author of many novels, stories, and "The Amazon Trail"
American Library Association GLBT Round Table review
The loss of her partner and lover in the line of duty sends LA Detective Loni Wagner back to the safe life of her Arizona hometown. She takes a night patrol shift on empty desert roads expecting quiet, peace, no stress--except for the plane wreck in a graveyard, dead bodies, a serial rapist, human smugglers, a tornado, drug runners, and rustling and vandalism on her grandparents' ranch. Despite a sexist police chief who dumps the difficult situations on her, Loni finds time to make friends. But it's Lola, the department dispatcher, who catches her eye.
Is Loni too wounded to accept her losses and love again? Or will she figure out what coming home can really mean?
"Some people are born storytellers. This author certainly is. In her first Loni Wagner mystery, Sue Hardesty draws the reader into much more than plot or whodunit."
Lee Lynch, award-winning author of many novels, stories, and "The Amazon Trail"
234 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2011
About the author
Sue Hardesty
8 books1 followerI was born and raised on the Arizona desert and grew up on horseback until I was thirty years old. I taught English and media in high school for twenty-seven years. Loving the sound of water I decided to get out the the desert heat and move to the coast of Oregon where I found all the water I wanted. It is lovely. With my partner of forty plus years I opened a bookstore and two bed and breakfasts. And now I write.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
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March 9, 2012This book was equally good and frustrating.
The story tells a month in the life of Loni, back to her hometown after the death of her partner Maria. When she was in LA, Loni was a good detective, but back in Arizona, she works for the Highway Patrol, where she has to face the chauvinist, homophobic, racist remarks of her chief, colleagues and a few people around her. Her oasis of peace and comfort is her Indian half of the family, that provides her with faith in her capacities and loving support.
I must admit I was expecting the mystery part to be more prominent, but what we get in this book is a slice of Loni's life, what she experiences day after day, sometimes in relation with the investigation and sometimes just about her heritage, her mourning and the blossoming of a romantic relationship. The book to some extent reads more as a biography than a mystery novel.
The richness of Loni's background, the teachings of her grandparents are lively and interesting, but sometimes they were so detailed that I almost lost the overall feeling of the story. The use of emails and diaries felt as a disruption of the flowing of the narration. I also had the impression that sometimes the point-of-view was deep into the character, but sometimes I was brought out of the story by observations that seemed to come more from the author than the character.
I liked the second part of the story better than the first half, even if the writing style was less lyrical and more clipped. The events in Loni's job were told in their many facets, from the drunken drivers, to the domestic fights and the tragic situation of the illegals pouring from Mexico into the US. This is why I think it's almost impossible to label this book, because it's basically procedural, but it deals with issues about identity, with racism and sexism, it becomes so much more complex than you could expect from the blurb.
I would be sorry to lose some of the interesting stories of Loni and her grandparents, but there are moments when the story seems to drag and the pacing becomes uneven, especially when it takes a step back from the investigation, because at the end the elements that bring to the solution are almost cluttered and the ending seems a bit rushed.
A good story with a strong main character, recommended to those who don't mind a slower pace in their reading.
The story tells a month in the life of Loni, back to her hometown after the death of her partner Maria. When she was in LA, Loni was a good detective, but back in Arizona, she works for the Highway Patrol, where she has to face the chauvinist, homophobic, racist remarks of her chief, colleagues and a few people around her. Her oasis of peace and comfort is her Indian half of the family, that provides her with faith in her capacities and loving support.
I must admit I was expecting the mystery part to be more prominent, but what we get in this book is a slice of Loni's life, what she experiences day after day, sometimes in relation with the investigation and sometimes just about her heritage, her mourning and the blossoming of a romantic relationship. The book to some extent reads more as a biography than a mystery novel.
The richness of Loni's background, the teachings of her grandparents are lively and interesting, but sometimes they were so detailed that I almost lost the overall feeling of the story. The use of emails and diaries felt as a disruption of the flowing of the narration. I also had the impression that sometimes the point-of-view was deep into the character, but sometimes I was brought out of the story by observations that seemed to come more from the author than the character.
I liked the second part of the story better than the first half, even if the writing style was less lyrical and more clipped. The events in Loni's job were told in their many facets, from the drunken drivers, to the domestic fights and the tragic situation of the illegals pouring from Mexico into the US. This is why I think it's almost impossible to label this book, because it's basically procedural, but it deals with issues about identity, with racism and sexism, it becomes so much more complex than you could expect from the blurb.
I would be sorry to lose some of the interesting stories of Loni and her grandparents, but there are moments when the story seems to drag and the pacing becomes uneven, especially when it takes a step back from the investigation, because at the end the elements that bring to the solution are almost cluttered and the ending seems a bit rushed.
A good story with a strong main character, recommended to those who don't mind a slower pace in their reading.
July 13, 2012
2.75 stars
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews