Hunter's Dance

An honorable, likable main character; a good sense of place and time; quirky, well-developed secondary characters; and a complex plot with numerous twists -- it all adds up to an enjoyable addition to what is quickly becoming a fine series. --Booklist When this densely plotted whodunit opens in 1950, wartime jobs have dried up and times are tough for fishermen, farmers, miners and loggers who live inthese parts. Being of hardy Scandinavian stock, people in the close-knit township of St. Adele still paint their houses in cheerful shades of yellowand blue and kick up their heels at the big social events. But when two teenage boys get into a brawl at the Deer Hunters' Dance -- and when one of them is found murdered and hideously mutilated the next morning -- the town constable, a stolid fellow named John McIntire, wonders how well he really knows his neighbors. Germane or not, no political issue or social dynamic is overlooked in this story, from racial attitudes toward American Indians and the land grabbing schemes of visiting city slickers to the competitive housekeeping habits of the womenfolk and the current craze for uranium prospecting. But while the plethora of detail diffuses the action it alsoproduces rich character studies of people you don't meet every day. -- Marilyn Stasio, New York Times 1/25/04 The deliberate pace of Hills's sophomore effort, set in heavily rural Upper Michigan in the 1950s (after 2002's Past Imperfect), succeeds perfectly in capturing the complex relationships between insiders and outsiders and the obligations of family and friendship. An argument at a local dance between a rich kid and an Indian youth is prelude to a bizarre murder that sucks Constable John McIntire away from his pleasurable pastime of translating Selma Lagerlf's The Story of Gsta Berling from Swedish to English...Like an art restorer who uncovers a masterpiece hidden under a later, poorer painting, Hills lovingly clears away the grime and accretions to reveal stunning portraits of the residents of St. Adele, be they native, prodigal or temporary. Glimpses of individual portraits tantalize: the wife desperate to save her heavy-drinking husband; the bereaved mother compulsively baking; the private investigator seemingly more intent on finding uranium than a killer; the ancient recluse living rough and zealously guarding his privacy. But only when the restoration is complete can the viewer (or reader) appreciate the brilliance of the artist's vision. Hills's quiet masterpiece, including its shocking ending, lingers in the mind's eye long after the book is finished. --Publishers Weekly *Starred Review*