Rating: 
Summary: WEAK FIELD
Review: "The Wheat Field" is one of those books you read and when you're done, you ask yourself, was this worth the time. Ultimately, in spite of the book's flaws, it has a dark noirish feel, and Thayer pulls some surprises, and yet are they really that surprising? If you think about it, the main surprise is pretty obvious, but even though you may think about it early on, you don't quite think it's so.
The setting of 1960 is a unique one, and its inclusion of the Nixon-Kennedy presidential campaign is not only historically significant, but intricate to the plot.
The main problem is the narrator himself, Pliny Pennington. He doesn't seem all that heroic, at least in the traditional sense. He seems to have a low moral code; a self-pitying attitude about his sexual inadequacies; and a thirst for vengeance. Also, he is an out and out voyeur. His love for the victim, Maggie, seems like one of those adolescent crushes left unfulfilled, and what did he really see in her anyway. The rest of the characters are all as deep as a trickle of water, so you end up not really caring about any of them. There really isn't one likeable character in the whole book. So, with that in mind, it's to Thayer's credit that it's still an okay read, just not as good as his previous works.
There are many better books out there to read, folks. Check out "Swan Song" by Robert McCammon or any Michael Connelly books.
Rating: 
Summary: Hummm?
Review: All in all I did like the book. I enjoyed the narration, despite the fact that the narrator was somewhat of a depressant. However, I don't know if there was some sort of political bias crafted by S. Thayer, but republicans then and now obviously don't complement the rudimentary actions of the book's characters as the author might have intended. Secondly, and most importantly the reason why I rated this book lower than three stars is this: The sex scenes. I have heard of vicarious reading but this was more in the area of vicarious writing. Sure, it was illicit and many people will find these sections of the book exciting, but that is why they sell penthouse magazines. Three pages to describe (sexually) a scene (early in the book), and yet the point of the scene was summed up in less than one paragraph. Go figure?
Rating:
Summary: Hummm?
Review: All in all I did like the book. I enjoyed the narration, despite the fact that the narrator was somewhat of a depressant. However, I don't know if there was some sort of political bias crafted by S. Thayer, but republicans then and now obviously don't complement the rudimentary actions of the book's characters as the author might have intended. Secondly, and most importantly the reason why I rated this book lower than three stars is this: The sex scenes. I have heard of vicarious reading but this was more in the area of vicarious writing. Sure, it was illicit and many people will find these sections of the book exciting, but that is why they sell penthouse magazines. Three pages to describe (sexually) a scene (early in the book), and yet the point of the scene was summed up in less than one paragraph. Go figure?
Rating: 
Summary: Geographically awesome
Review: First the great, which won't apply to many. I'm from Wisconsin Dells...we listened to this book on audio this weekend on our monthly trip home from Cincinnati. I was enthralled by the incredibly detailed and ACCURATE descriptions of my town. Mentions of real highways and real towns nearby. I believe the town of "Kickapoo Falls" is actually the city of Baraboo, Wis., for a number of reasons. I absolutely loved having somebody talk in such detail about all the places I know like the back of my hand. However all of this won't apply to most of you, but if you're from S. Central Wisconsin you MUST read this book.On the plot: I very much enjoyed it. It's deep, dark, mysterious, sexually explicit without being pornographic, and very intricate. There are real events of 1960 that are effecting the characters in the book, most specifically the Nixon-Kennedy election and the changing social atmosphere. Very well written. Everyone says that the book was unpredictable, but I didn't think so. In fact both my fiancee and myself had the "big" plot twist figured out very early on. Enough hints were dropped. But I still give this book five stars, even though it probably only rates 4. Why? Well...because it was written about my town. :) Oddly enough, this author has written several best sellers and there is no information about him apparently available. I'd love to talk to him and find out how he found out about "Poo-U" (Boo U in real life).
Rating:
Summary: Great concept, yet has problems
Review: I give this book 3 stars because the author has definite creative potential, the ending was a surprise, and a very good one; but I don't like all the sentence fragments and I think he just added some things to show his creativity, things which are not relevant to the story at hand. It was a slow read for me, someone who reads on average 2 books a week. There was a time when I put it down for a week without picking it up, and I almost didn't finish it, but I had to know who the killer was. Like I said, the ending was a great surprise, and if I liked his style, this would have definitely been a 5 star book.
Rating: 
Summary: sex, murder and politics along the Dells
Review: I really like reading Steve Thayer's books. I remember after reading SAINT MUDD that I was driving along the St. Paul riverbanks and thinking about the caves used by gangsters. This time he takes to the Wisconsin Dells and 1960 before the great tourist descent. Once again he writes about places and weaves legend into the story. The story is written in the first person from the perspective of the investigating deputy. He arrives at the scene of the wheat field murders of Maggie and Michael Butler, who have been blown away by a shotgun in a perfectly formed crop circle. So is it a murder/suicide, double homicide, something more, something less? Oh and the sordid tale of illicit sex and small town gossip runs rampant through out the story. There are no saints in this novel of deceit and treachery. We follow the narrative down a road of personal discovery and shocking revelation, and just when you think you've got everything mapped Thayer twists down another avenue of inquiry you hadn't even considered. To give too many details would spoil an outstanding book. So if I like it so much, why not 5 stars you ask? I just wish the sex would have been less graphic. I can get the idea without all the details.
Rating:
Summary: A stellar story
Review: If I were sucessful writing I would hope to be half a good as Mr. Thayer. The twists, turns, and level ground of his story keeps your mind speeding all the time. He ties in love, hate,politics, small town USA and about everything else you can think of. I will look forward to reading more of his work and could assure all if it is even close to this book in readability it would be a great success.
Rating:
Summary: Pseudonymous Straub
Review: If Peter Straub didn't write this novel pseudonymously, then Steve Thayer has studied the man's writings and imitated them perfectly. All the standard Straub elements are here: the Wisconsin setting, the obsessed and flawed hero besieged by numerous secret enemies, political intrigue, and a mysteriously vanished former love-interest femme fatale. Whenever you think you've got this one figured out, the author throws an ingenious twist your way. It begins with a double-barrelled shotgun blast, ends in thunder, lightning and flame, and traces a labyrinthine trail in-between of corrupt politicians and police, menacing secret societies, setups and double-crosses, frame-ups, cover-ups, mysterious late-night phone calls, contacts of dubious loyalties, hidden agendas, jealousy, greed, and every film noir element imaginable. The most brilliant aspect of this lightning-fast, multiply-layered page-turner is its own narrator, Deputy Detective Pliny Pennington, a man who - all the way to the closing chapter - the reader can't ever quite be sure of. Pliny has a checkered past, which includes obsessive voyeurism, stalking, and even one plain, old-fashioned, cold-blooded murder. Is he a good guy, or a bad guy? Or just an average guy, a basic shade of gray with stronger than usual black and white highlights? The novel is brilliantly plotted and constructed, and holds the reader's interest in a constantly tightening vise that never lets go. If you've never read Peter Straub, you'll get a great sample of his work in Thayer's The Wheat Field. If you have read Straub, you'll love this book more than you could imagine. If you don't know and never care to find out who Peter Straub is, you'll still find this an incredibly thrilling and surprisingly delightful read. Don't miss it. It's great.
Rating:
Summary: Pseudonymous Straub
Review: If Peter Straub didn't write this novel pseudonymously, then Steve Thayer has studied the man's writings and imitated them perfectly. All the standard Straub elements are here: the Wisconsin setting, the obsessed and flawed hero besieged by numerous secret enemies, political intrigue, and a mysteriously vanished former love-interest femme fatale. Whenever you think you've got this one figured out, the author throws an ingenious twist your way. It begins with a double-barrelled shotgun blast, ends in thunder, lightning and flame, and traces a labyrinthine trail in-between of corrupt politicians and police, menacing secret societies, setups and double-crosses, frame-ups, cover-ups, mysterious late-night phone calls, contacts of dubious loyalties, hidden agendas, jealousy, greed, and every film noir element imaginable. The most brilliant aspect of this lightning-fast, multiply-layered page-turner is its own narrator, Deputy Detective Pliny Pennington, a man who - all the way to the closing chapter - the reader can't ever quite be sure of. Pliny has a checkered past, which includes obsessive voyeurism, stalking, and even one plain, old-fashioned, cold-blooded murder. Is he a good guy, or a bad guy? Or just an average guy, a basic shade of gray with stronger than usual black and white highlights? The novel is brilliantly plotted and constructed, and holds the reader's interest in a constantly tightening vise that never lets go. If you've never read Peter Straub, you'll get a great sample of his work in Thayer's The Wheat Field. If you have read Straub, you'll love this book more than you could imagine. If you don't know and never care to find out who Peter Straub is, you'll still find this an incredibly thrilling and surprisingly delightful read. Don't miss it. It's great.
Rating:
Summary: excellent historical police procedural
Review: In 1960, Kickapoo Falls, Wisconsin is a small bucolic town with a comparatively small-sized small sheriff's department to match the low crime rate. Deputy Pennington reveres his boss Sheriff Fats, the man who hired him, trained him and believed in him ever since he was brought on board just after World War II. The job is Pennington's whole life although the ex military sniper is in love with Maggie Butler who is married to Michael.
Pennington feels a deep rage when he comes across Michael and Maggie dead and nude in Farmer Gutterson's wheat fields. The sheriff wants to call it a murder-suicide but his deputy knows instinctively it's a double homicide and goes about gathering evidence, which leads him to one of the town's most powerful citizens, a man running for the US Senate seat. Before this case is over or he is dead, Pennington will be betrayed, shot at and imprisoned by the elite infrastructure.
Steve Thayer, author of one of this reviewer's favorite thrillers (see THE WEATHERMAN), has written another exciting work that stars a flawed and brooding hero who captures the attention of the audience from the very first page. The historical police procedural is cleverly designed to bring out the era yet provide an exciting who-done-it investigation. Readers will hope that there will be more works staring this protagonist because he is atypical law enforcement official. Harriet Klausner
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