Starred review from October 26, 2015
In Edgar-winner Burke’s stunning follow-up to 2014’s Wayfaring Stranger, former Texas Ranger Hackberry Holland sets off to look for his estranged son, Ishmael, a U.S. Army captain, in a journey spanning over two years. In 1916, after a botched Ranger operation in Mexico, Hackberry has in his possession an artifact rumored to be the Holy Grail, incurring the wrath of Arnold Beckman, a vicious arms dealer who wants the artifact for himself. Bloodshed and treachery follow as Hackberry searches for his son while staying ahead of Beckman. As usual, Burke packs this epic novel with stellar characters, the best of whom are women: union activist Ruby Dansen, who’s Ishmael’s mother, and Beatrice DeMolay, a brothel owner who comes to Hackberry’s aid in Mexico. It’s easy to picture Hackberry as an avenging angel, albeit one with tattered wings, and his struggle to reconcile his innate sense of goodness with his violent sense of justice is only one of the story’s many facets. Crisp dialogue highlights this tale of redemption and the bonds of family, and the breathtaking conclusion is one that readers won’t soon forget. Agent: Philip Spitzer, Philip G. Spitzer Literary Agency.
Starred review from January 25, 2016
Actor Patton uses a mellifluous Southwestern accent to add aural gravitas to Burke’s WWI-era-set novel, with its trademark mix of nature’s beauty and man’s brutality. Alcoholic, mule-stubborn, prone-to-violence former Texas Ranger Hackberry Holland is on a mission to save his soul by finding and mending his broken relations with his son, Ishmael, an Army captain suffering from near-fatal war wounds. During the two-year quest, Hack has many adventures involving a trio of remarkable women—union activist Ruby Dansen, who’s Ishmael’s mother; Beatrice DeMolay, a brothel owner who comes to his aid in Mexico; and Maggie Bassett-Holland, Hack’s cold and conniving estranged wife. Along the way, he comes to possess a chalice that Austrian arms dealer Arnold Beckman believes to be the Holy Grail. This is a sprawling, bold historical adventure, beautifully written by Burke, with lyrical and dramatic passages brought to full effect by Patton’s atmospheric rendering and strikingly gripping enactment. A Simon & Schuster hardcover.