How to Walk Like a Man, by Eli Eston

[Ulysses]

How to Walk Like A Man
By Eli Easton
Pinkerton Road, 2015
Five stars

I’m so glad someone steered me to this series by Eli Easton. Although stand-alone as a novel, “How To Walk Like a Man” is a sequel to “How to Howl at the Moon,” and both are set (as shifter novels tend to be) in a small, isolated town in the California mountains called Mad Creek. Local sheriff Lance Beaufort and his partner Tim Weston are the primary links to the first book, and while Tim is in a supporting role here, Lance is quite central to the roll-out of the plot. There are parallels in the two plots (one character in dog form for a good stretch of time, suspicion of outsiders), but Easton has tailored this story to the unique particulars of the characters and has done so with great humor and emotional weight.

Matt Barclay is an up-and-coming DEA investigator, assigned to Beaufort’s office in Mad Creek to survey the endless public and otherwise unoccupied mountain land for possible illicit activity. Matt is all too aware of Sheriff Beaufort’s discomfort with his presence, and immediately notices some peculiarities within the town’s otherwise friendly populace. He is assigned Deputy Roman Charsguard by the sheriff, and together these two young men build a solid friendship as they trek through the hills in search of anyone who might spoil the pristine beauty of the wilderness.

Both men have military baggage, so to speak. Matt’s is more conventional, although it plays a critical role in his perspective on the world. Roman, however, is the lynchpin. He is a quickened, a dog of exceptional intelligence who, for whatever miraculous reason, bonded so deeply with his army handler that he transformed into a human. His harrowing story, and his finding haven in Mad Creek, define the shape of the narrative.

Roman is wonderfully portrayed – a young man who is only two years into his human existence, still very much a dog in some ways, still discovering the remarkable advantages of the mysterious gift of humanity. The chief joy of this book is following Roman in his self-discovery and learning how the carefully-trained military dog adapts and evolves to a wondrous new life. Matt Barclay, of course, is an unforeseen complication. Torn between his loyalty to his community and his burgeoning human feelings for the outsider, Roman is both hilarious and heartbreaking.

In a different world, this would make a fantastic Netflix series.