The Upright Man

Rating:
Summary: A DISAPPOINTING SEQUEL TO A GREAT NOVEL!!!
Review: When I first heard that a sequel to Michael Marshall's THE STRAW MEN (I gave this novel a five-star rating) was out, I was filled with excitement and anticipation like a little kid at a birthday party. I loved Marshall's first novel, especially the concept of a community where only serial killers lived. That was something new and intriguing, and I'd hoped that the second book in the series, THE UPRIGHT MAN, would continue to explore this particular theme. Unfortunately, Marshall's newest novel doesn't come even close to equaling his first, which is a huge disappointment to me. I will say that this book does have a fabulous opening chapter, though it doesn't follow through with the expectations it creates in the reader. John Zandt (ex-LAPD Homicide Detective), following a tip, leads Ward Hopkins (ex-CIA agent) to an area in Washington State called Dry Creek where over a dozen corpses have been left by either the Straw Men, or the Upright Man (Ward's twin brother), some of them in rather unusual and humorous positions. Zandt and Hopkins check out the crime scene, then go their separate ways. That's pretty much the last time Dry Creek is mentioned in the book. Anyway, John Zandt goes off on his own path, methodically hunting down members of the Straw Men in his vengeful search for the Upright Man. Little is known about Zandt's journey till the very end of the book. Ward, however, tries to hide from the Straw Men, but eventually gives up and begins to search for information about his brother's past, starting in San Francisco. While this is going on, Nina Baynam (FBI agent and Zandt's former lover) finds herself involved in a double-murder case in Los Angeles that may involve the Straw Men. So far everything is set up nicely to hook the reader. What throws the book way off course is another subplot involving a salesman by the name of Tom Kozelek who attempts suicide by walking ten miles into a snow-filled forest with nothing but booze and pills to keep him company, the strange citizens of Sheffer, Washington who seem to be hiding some dark secret, and the possibility that Big Foot is actually real. This subplot takes away from the rest of the story and eats up at least a hundred pages of the book. Each time a new chapter came along that dealt with good-old Tom and his sighting of Big Foot, I found myself scratching my head in utter confusion, wondering why the author was even including this stuff in the book. I wanted to skip over these chapters (and almost did a couple of times), but I was afraid that I'd miss something important with regards to the rest of the novel. Of course, the whole point of this particular subplot becomes clear near the end, but I didn't find the answers very satisfying. It's only because I enjoyed the parts dealing with Nina Baynam and Ward Hopkins that I'm even giving this novel a three-star rating. And it's only because I loved THE STRAW MEN so much that I'd even consider buying the third book in the series when it finally comes out. Michael Marshall has already proven that he can write an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat thriller that's filled with new ideas. The author is also great at creating strong and interesting characters-both protagonists and antagonists-- and at weaving a complex story line, intertwined with several fascinating subplots that merge together at the end for a very satisfying finale (at least in his first novel). If you've read THE STRAW MEN and are somewhat like me, you'll want to buy THE UPRIGHT MAN and draw your own conclusions about it. Hopefully, the author will learn from this and do a much better job on the next book. And, probably like the rest of you, I'll buy it as soon as it comes out.