JUST PUBLISHED, HOT OFF THE PRESSES!
After hearing Goldberg speak about his novel, I knew immediately that I had to read it. It's not every day that I get to read anything about Barstow where I lived for two years when my dad was stationed at Camp Irwin in the early 50's. I remembered the base as a wonderful playground for children-after all, the whole place was a gigantic sandbox. But my parents remembered it as a hellhole and that's how Goldberg begins his book.Officer Beth McDade was busted from the LAPD for sex with a subordinate. To stay a cop in Ca., she had to accept the dregs of assignments-Barstow, where Death Valley meets dead career choice. Normally life isn't too exciting but on 2/2/2019 there was a fiery explosion at the Marine base, a crazed guy hit by a motor home, and the disappearance of Owen Slader, an Anthony Bourdain wannabee. All of the sudden, Officer McDade had her hands full.
Meanwhile, back in the mining town of Calico in the 1880's a dude appears. He doesn't smell bad, he has all of his teeth, and he's dressed funny, all of which set him apart from the townsfolk. To fit in, he identifies himself as a chef who specializes in French cuisine. When he starts a job cooking at the Saloon, food automatically and exponentially improves. He goes by the name Ben Cartwright. McDade finds bones in a new project development and the coroner runs tests on them-they are certainly Slader's remains but why is he only a skeleton after disappearing a week ago, and why do his bones and the remains of the guy hit by the motor home date back to the 1880's?
This is a good police investigation/western that brings back the real mining town and the true flavor of Calico, California mixed in with some very whimsical elements. Goldberg marries the events of now and then with a wonderful sense of imagination and makes the reader believe things that can't possibly be true...or can they?
Reviewed by Donna Ballard.
Publication date - November 7, 2023
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