Rating: 
Summary: Two tales of crime, one much better than the other
Review:
In BLUE RIDGE, T.R. Pearson follows two storylines with the slimmest of connections; his two protagonists are cousins. The far better of the two tales is that of Ray Tatum, a former city cop who is now a deputy sheriff in Hogarth, Virginia. Trying to put a family tragedy and failed marriage behind him, Ray discovers a body along the Appalachian Trail and with the assistance of a rather fierce Park Ranger from DC; he pursues the trail which leads to one of those places that are very difficult to deal with in a small town. This part of the story feels very authentic to me, the story stretches just far enough to hold your interest and the relationship between Ray and the ranger, Kit just feels very real. The dialogue and settings work exceptionally well.
It's the tale of Ray's cousin, Paul, and his trip to NYC that reads like a bad pulp story. Paul is called in to identify the body of the son he never actually had anything to do with after his original conception. From there Paul becomes involved with a dopey duo of cops, a conniving actress, and a criminal who almost seems omniscient in his portrayal by Pearson. Wasting time with a trip through the seamy side of Manhattan and finishing up with an outrageously ridiculous ending, I couldn't help but wish Pearson had focused all his energies on Ray's tale and left Paul in his notebook; Pearson's dialogue and settings seem to ring much truer in the South.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark, but enjoyable read
Review: Blue Ridge was the first book I read by Pearson. I didn't find it funny at all (unlike its sequel, Polar), but he writes beautifully and the characters are wonderful. Read this book, then read Polar, have the full Pearson experience, and you'll be glad you did. Keep in mind that, while well written, Blue Ridge is a very dark, often violent book.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good book - but not a casual read
Review: I really enjoyed the first three-quarters of this book. I believed it was shaping up to deliver a devastatingly creative resolution to the two parallel mysteries that cleverly weave around one another, but the fact is that the resolution was, to me at least, pedestrian and predictable. The two Tatum brothers, each of whom is central to the simultaneous stories, are nicely drawn and developed characters, and it isn't that their stories are necessarily unbelievable (though I found the New York hoodlum Giles pretty hard to believe). I think the strong start and unconventional narrative built me up to expect a much stronger finish. Sadly, it was exactly what I expect from a murder mystery, which is why I don't generally read them. Luckily for me I bought it at a used book store for [money ammount]; had I paid full price I would probably have been even more disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth the Wait
Review: Seven years is a long time to wait for a new book from a favorite author, but T.R. Pearson is worth that much time and more. His last novel, "Cry Me a River," appeared in 1993, and represented a sharp break in style from his earlier novels (especially the Neeley trilogy.) "River" surprised readers by using the framework of a crime novel to tell a story of human loss and longing.In "Blue Ridge," Pearson once again uses the crime novel to muse on the human heart, although he far exceeds the requirements of the genre in his flawless and witty writing and his thoughtfully realized characters. The story is divided into two parts: Ray Tatum, the newest member of the Hogarth, VA., Sheriff's department, must get to know his new neighbors the hard way: by discovering if one of them is a killer. Meanwhile, his cousin Paul, an actuary, travels to New York City to identify the remains of the illegitimate son he hardly knew. Ray's story is told in the third person, with the narrative point-of-view occasionally shared by Park Ranger Kit Carson. Paul speaks for himself, narrating events that grow increasingly far-removed from his tidy actuarial world. The two stories never intersect, but they share the theme of identity and belonging (or not-belonging.) The two murders are solved, as the genre seems to require, although traditional crime fans might find the solutions unsettling. But, as in any Pearson book, the pleasure is in the journey, not the arrival.
Rating:
Summary: After a long wait, a departure
Review: T. R. Pearson departs the style that made him a favorite of mine, reminiscent of sitting on a porch with a glass of tea, listening to a series of raconteurs spinning yarns and gossip. His previous books, all set in the same imaginary County, flowed in a honeyed stream, causing more than one bursts of laughter. Now this more conventional yet totally original book has surfaced. And I for one am glad.
Rating:
Summary: Rural Or Urban
Review: This is only the second book I have read by Mr. Pearson, the other was, "Polar", and it happens they share many of the same players. Had I known, I would have read them in order, but they both stand on their own, and both are extremely well done. My impression was this author portrayed small towns and the wildly colorful on the edge characters they contain. In this book he shifts from a rural venue to the ultimate urban setting of New York City repeatedly without pause or misstep. There is commonality between the two protagonists as well as the experience of unwinding two separate homicides. The killings, the reactions they cause, their investigations, and eventual resolutions are not only the common focal point but also the means by which the author defines two very different communities, two very different ways of life. In both settings a life can be taken for little thought or consideration, whether for a perceived sleight, or a business deal gone askew. In NYC there are viewing rooms for the living to identify the dead, when what amounts to a skeleton is found much further south on The Appalachian Trail, the remains are ferried in the trunk of a cruiser within a plastic bag. The author takes a familiar situation and puts it on the other side of the glass. The death of a child is devastating to a parent, but what is it when the child is the result of an impulse, when the child never becomes more than a picture of a toddler in a wallet? What fundamental ties are there, if any, between a parent and their child regardless of time or seeming indifference? To date I have read and very much enjoyed both of the works I have read by this author, and I plan on working through the other 5.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Worst Books I've Ever Read!
Review: This novel did so little to capture or retain my interest, I tossed it aside a hundred pages in; it reads like a script from a low-rate made-for-tv movie. It's flaws are many, not the least of which are abundant cliched characters and situations, and just bad, ungrammatical writing. From the "whiskery old coot" behind the desk at the cheap motel, to the aw-shucks, puttin' up with his elderly aunt's bad cookin,' caricature of a southern sherrif, to this classic passage from page 79: "Lyle lost his people all in a clump. His wife. His momma and daddy. Had a niece to get hit by a car. [sic] All of them right there together, and then that dog of his ran off." Contemptuously sloppy writing like this doesn't deserve to get published, and it cerainly doesn't deserve your hard-earned money. I don't know any other works by T.R. Pearson; for all I know, they may be exceptionally fine. But my advice is to completely avoid this one. I got this book from a bargain table for a dollar, so I got what I paid for.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good book - but not a casual read
Review: This was my first book by this author and I tried it based on recommendations here. I enjoyed it - but there is no character introduction and the story jumping back and forth between the two main characters and plots requires attention. So I guess if you are willing in read closely and pay attention the reward is a pretty good book.
Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable!!!
Review: This was one great read, I am definitely going to check out Mr. Pearson's other books! "Blue Ridge" is really two stories alternating. One involves a new deputy sheriff investigating a death with the help of a high-string (female) park ranger near the Appalachin Trail in Virginia. (Right here the book had me, because these circumstances echoed the works of Bill Bryson and the transcendent Sharyn McCrumb.) The other story concerns a man who is summoned to New York City to identify what is supposed to be the body of his murdered son, whom he had never met. This man is visited by some very bad, yet elegant and polite, people who the dead son was involved with. The man is taken on a sort of tour of the city, much against his will, and there is some real suspense as to what the outcome of this trip will be. Mr. Pearson writes in such a whimsical and lyrical way, you can just hear the people speaking. I love his description of the deputy's aunt, a terrible cook, who expects him for dinner every week. Of the two stories, the New York story is more involving . The deputy's story is flavorful but not so involving, becoming more of a feisty romance. I highly recommend this wonderful novel, you will find yourself re-reading descriptive sentences over and over for the sheer pleasure of reading!
Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable!!!
Review: This was one great read, I am definitely going to check out Mr. Pearson's other books! "Blue Ridge" is really two stories alternating. One involves a new deputy sheriff investigating a death with the help of a high-string (female) park ranger near the Appalachin Trail in Virginia. (Right here the book had me, because these circumstances echoed the works of Bill Bryson and the transcendent Sharyn McCrumb.) The other story concerns a man who is summoned to New York City to identify what is supposed to be the body of his murdered son, whom he had never met. This man is visited by some very bad, yet elegant and polite, people who the dead son was involved with. The man is taken on a sort of tour of the city, much against his will, and there is some real suspense as to what the outcome of this trip will be. Mr. Pearson writes in such a whimsical and lyrical way, you can just hear the people speaking. I love his description of the deputy's aunt, a terrible cook, who expects him for dinner every week. Of the two stories, the New York story is more involving . The deputy's story is flavorful but not so involving, becoming more of a feisty romance. I highly recommend this wonderful novel, you will find yourself re-reading descriptive sentences over and over for the sheer pleasure of reading!
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