Synopses & Reviews
During a routine drug bust, on a narrow bridge over white-water falls in the center of town, Spokane detective Caroline Mabry finds herself face-to-face with a brutal murderer. Within hours, the body of a young prostitute is found on the riverbank nearby. What follows confronts our fascination with pathology and murder and stares it down, as Caroline and her cynical partner, Alan Dupree—thrown headlong into the search for a serial murderer who communicates by killing women—uncover some hard truths about their profession . . . and each other.
Rich with the darkly muted colors of the Pacific Northwest skies, Over Tumbled Graves established Jess Walter as a novelist of extraordinary emotional depth and dimension.
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“Shifting like...currents, the story moves swiftly, promising a fast-paced thriller filled with inner turmoil as well as action.” Sun Sentinel
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“(Walters) first novel is an accomplished character study...A very satisfying debut.” Booklist
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“[An] intelligent, gripping, and genuinely scary novel...” Otto Penzler, Amazon.com
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“Breathtaking.Moving.Insightful. Excellent quality of writing.” The Mystery Review
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“Suspenseful,challenging and intelligently written, Over Tumbled Graves is a first novel of considerable depth and insight.” The Dallas Morning News
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“First rate writing speeds us to a perfectly foreshadowed plot twist and a gripping conclusion.” Oregonian
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“Disquieting. Walter(s)...incisive sensitivity...emerges as a bitter metaphor.” New York Times Book Review
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"(Walter's) powerful fiction debut....stands out from run-of-the-mill serial killer novels...." The Seattle Times
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“Outstanding. Riveting. Never sacrifices action for emotional impact.” The Washington Post Book World
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“An original page-turner in this overcrowded genre.” Philadelphia Inquirer
Synopsis
In
Over Tumbled Graves, Jess Walter, National Book Award finalist and author of
Citizen Vince and
The Zero, confronts our fascination with pathology and murder. A thriller of extraordinary depth and dimension,
Over Tumbled Graves follows Caroline Mabry, a Spokane police detective searching for a serial murderer.
Synopsis
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
"Riveting. . . . Without ever taking the easy way out, the book explores the battle of good vs. evil on very human terms."
--Washington Post Book World
Dark in mood and rich in character, Over Tumbled Graves is the rare thriller that manages to be at once viscerally gripping and provocative on a deeper level. Set in the city of Spokane, the novel follows detective Caroline Mabry as she descends into a nighmarish underworld of violence in pursuit of a suspected prostitute killer named Lenny Ryan. As the bodies pile up, the personal strain becomes unbearable for Caroline and her mentor, Alan Dupree--and the two are forced to confront not only the mounting death toll but their desperate, unconsummated attraction for each other. As her investigation closes in on the truth, Caroline enters an all-male world of serial-killer "experts" for whom chasing violent criminals is like managing a major-league sports team--far more concerned with grabbing headlines, amassing statistics into phony "profiles", and promoting their own careers than with the human beings at the center of the unthinkable crimes they're supposed to be chasing.
Within this most disturbing of boy's clubs, Caroline's abilities are called into question and her career jeopardized. She must swim against relentless currents of doubt to find the truth behind the killings. While her male colleagues focus on confirming their theories about the killer, Caroline turns to the victims, among whom she finds an unlikely ally. When she finally finds herself face-to-face with Lenny Ryan and all that he represents, she must chose between saving her career and standing up for the truth.
The last decade has seen an endless parade of serial killer novels, most following the conventions of The Silence of the Lambs. But this is that rare entry that actually merits the comparison--for both its literary quality and its thoughtful confrontation of the place serial killers have assumed in our culture.
Synopsis
In Over Tumbled Graves, Jess Walter, National Book Award finalist and author of Citizen Vince and The Zero, confronts our fascination with pathology and murder. A thriller of extraordinary depth and dimension, Over Tumbled Graves follows Caroline Mabry, a Spokane police detective searching for a serial murderer.
About the Author
Jess Walter is the author of six novels, including the bestsellers Beautiful Ruins and The Financial Lives of the Poets, the National Book Award finalist The Zero, and Citizen Vince, the winner of the Edgar Award for best novel. His short fiction has appeared in Harper's, McSweeney's, and Playboy, as well as The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. He lives in his hometown of Spokane, Washington.