Bitch Creek : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: New Character, New Local, Good Story.
Review:
Struck by lightening, Stoney Calhoun had his memory erased. Well, mostly erased. There are images that come back once in a while. Some of these images drew him to Maine where he is working in a fishing tackle shop and doing a bit of guiding.

Then there's the murder.

Stoney begins looking into the murder, surprising himself by discovering he's a trained investigator.

And for any more than that you have to read the book. I will say a few things more about the book. It's excellent. It's the thirty-something book from this author, twenty one of which have featured the character Brady Coyne. As you finish this book, you can only hope that this is not the end of Stoney Calhoun, his girl friend Kate and the Maine fishing business.

Rating:
Summary: "Brought back to life with a big jolt of electricity."
Review: Fans of Tapply's Brady Coyne mysteries will find his new "hero," Stonewall Jackson Calhoun, at least as interesting. Stoney has been living for five years in the southernmost corner of Maine, working at a bait and tackle shop. He has a woman who loves him, a best friend, a faithful Brittany spaniel, and a house that he has built with his own hands. What Stoney does not have is a remembered past. More than six years ago, he was struck by lightning and has lost his ability to call up memories. All he knows about his past is what people have told him--that he is originally from Beaufort, South Carolina, and that he has an ex-wife about whom he has no recollection.

When Fred Green, an out-of-towner, comes into the shop to hire Stoney to take him fishing for native Maine trout, Stoney begs off and calls a young friend, Lyle McMahan, to take his place. Green, like many dedicated fishermen, knows a secret fishing spot, and when Green and Lyle set out, no one knows exactly where they are going. When Lyle does not return that night or the next day, Stoney and Kate, who owns the shop, become worried, and Stoney determines to find him. In a remote area, he finds Lyle's body at the edge of a trout pond, his "belly boat" deflated.

Alternating back and forth in time, the narrative details Stoney's search for Lyle's killer, while revealing Stoney's own background, along with his present life and relationships. We meet many unique local characters, and we learn about the wooded land Stoney has bought on Bitch Creek, about the Great Fire of 1947, and about the history of the area, the interrelationships of the people who live there, and the Down East spirit which imbues their lives. Then the mysterious Man in the Suit arrives at his house, unannounced and uninvited, questioning Stoney about what he remembers from the past.

The mystery here is well developed and exciting, with confrontations, gunshots, and fights, and Tapply will obviously be able to take Stoney in many new directions as Stoney deals continuously with his fragmentary memories of the past and the unexpected arrival of the Man in the Suit. The details ring true, the characters are realistic, and the dialogue sounds like real Down East dialogue, filled with long pauses and "ay-uhs." The prose is descriptive, atmospheric, even lyrical--as unpretentious as the Maine woods--and Stoney Calhoun himself is just begging for a new adventure. Mary Whipple


Rating:
Summary: Two mysteries in one
Review: Stonewall Jackson Calhoun lives a quiet and nearly idyllic life in a cabin he built next to Bitch Creek in southern Maine. He spends time fishing, reading, hanging out with his dog Ralph Waldo, and working in Kate's Bait and Tackle Shop. The first mystery is: Who is Stoney, really? He knows he was released by a veteran's hospital in Virginia five years ago. Severe amnesia prevents him -- and us -- from knowing the rest of his history. Occasional deja-vu moments and dreams provide fleeting glimpses of people and circumstances from "before." Sometimes Stoney finds himself doing things he didn't know he could do, and he struggles to piece together an imagined identity based on his newly-rediscovered talents. What a gift to the reader! We get to learn more about Stoney just as he is learning about himself. Not many books honor us in that manner.

As intriguing as *that* mystery may be, a second one quickly emerges. Stoney's friend Lyle is missing, along with the Florida tourist that he took on a fishing outing. When Stoney later finds Lyle's body, he feels obligated to begin his own investigation of the murder. Thus does this second mystery hinge on the first, for Stoney's methodical strategy indicates to him (and to us) that his past might have included police or military experience. Even the local sheriff senses that Stoney is not crazy and knows what he's doing, and he welcomes the extra help in solving the case.

While a satisfying conclusion eventually brings the murder mystery to a close, we're still left with questions about Stoney Calhoun's identity. Should we believe the struck-by-lightning story the officials gave him? Who is the Man in the Suit who shows up from time to time? What source is sending money to Stoney? Will he ever remember his past, and will he ever know the real cause of his hospital stay? And if he remembers, what will become of his relationship with Kate?

Mr. Tapply is a worthy angler who has tied an intricate fly, sure to successfully lure all of us hungry mystery-devourers into the current of a new character-driven series. Here's hoping we will have an opportunity to spend additional time on the banks of Bitch Creek, getting to know Stoney Calhoun!

Rating:
Summary: Mysterious hero in an atmospheric story
Review: Tapply, author of the popular Brady Coyne novels, kicks off a new series featuring Stoney Calhoun, a loner whose past is a mystery even to himself. Five years earlier (than when, we're not sure - there are no cell phones in this story), he arrived in western York County, Maine, after 18 months in a hospital recovering from a lightning strike. Or so he's been told.

Stoney remembers nothing of his former life and "the Man in the Suit" comes around periodically to make sure he doesn't, Stoney assumes. Stoney's present is deliberately quiet: a job in a Portland bait shop tying flies and guiding fishermen; a discreet affair with the boss; a good dog; and a house in the woods along Bitch Creek, a fine place to contemplate the mysteries of trout and life.

Then he passes a repellent client off to friend and fellow guide, Lyle McMahan, a college student and avid naturalist, and Lyle disappears. Stoney himself finds the body, face down in a pond, murdered. And Stoney, who has flashes of memory he keeps to himself and discovers new abilities when the need for them arises, finds he has a knack for investigating. Which melds perfectly with his photographic memory and his hunter's instincts.

This character-driven novel with its tantalizing, sinister hints about the past and Stoney's complex, nuanced reflections and discoveries, has a laconic, atmospheric prose style. Tapply fleshes out the absorbing plot with crucial bits of local history, like the 1947 forest fire that burned out so many hardscrabble farmers. Readers may deduce the murderer before Stoney does, but not the why, and the ending gives Stoney a chance to use all his talents.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Book
Review: This is a very good book, I think. The few reviews I read over-simplified. It's about Stoney, a man who's lost his memory, they said. Yes, but not completely. He remembers bits, here and there, but cannot connect them, and he seems to have acquired some psychic abilities. He has a woman who loves him, they said. Yes, but it's no ordinary romance. Kate is an unusual woman who is encumbered with a husband who has MS and she loves Stoney on her own terms.
I was emotionally drawn into Stoney's life. Any story told from a single point of view does this best.
I grieved along with Stoney when Lyle was murdered. He was Stoney's first real friend since he'd come to Maine and a likable character.
Stoney learns about himself as he investigates his friend's murder and there are things about himself that he just is, without questioning why he is. For instance, he won't become Kate's lover without her husband's permission. So, he has some standards of morality. And he has a sense of humor. While there's not much that's amusing in this story, Stoney's "conversations" with Ralph always made me smile.
The Maine setting and people are accurately portrayed.
There was one tiny aspect of the ending that strained my credulity but overall it was satisfactory.
I have questions. There are things about these people that I want to know. I will welcome a sequel with enthusiasm.