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The Houseboat
The Houseboat: A Novel | Dane Bahr
2 posts | 2 read | 3 to read
James Sallis meets Mindhunter in this stylish and atmospheric noir set in small town Iowa in the 1960s, a midcentury heartland gothic with abounding twists and a feverish conclusion. Local outcast Rigby Sellers lives in squalor on a dilapidated houseboat moored on the Mississippi River. With only stolen mannequins and the river to keep him company, Rigby begins to spiral from the bizarre to the threatening. As a year of drought gives way to a season of squalls, a girl is found trembling on the side of the road, claiming her boyfriend was murdered. The townspeople of nearby Oscar turn their suspicions toward Sellers. Town sheriff Amos Fielding knows this crime is more than he can handle alone. He calls on the regional marshal up in Minnesota, and detective Edward Ness arrives in Oscar to help him investigate the homicide and defuse the growing unrest. Ness, suffering his own demons, is determined to put his past behind him and solve the case. But soon more bodies are found. As Ness and Fielding uncover disturbing facts about Sellers, and a great storm floods the Mississippi, threatening the town, Oscar is pushed to a breaking point even Ness may not be able to prevent.
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CaitlinR
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There is a horrible level of brutality here, but the author can really write and the pace is mesmerizing. Edward Ness, a regional marshal, is asked by a small town Iowan Sheriff to assist in finding a killer. We know that Rigby Seller is the murderer: his life and descent into madness is meticulously detailed. Ness drags his own demons through the story. We can see the final horror coming but still feel the grief. Not for the faint of heart.

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AudiobookingWithLeah
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Mehso-so

2¼⭐
A Low So-So...but I do love the cover.
This was a dark little story involving a murder investigation. The main suspect is somewhat dispossessed, he lives on a dirty houseboat and is definitely “off his rocker” so to speak. He was really quite the character. Unfortunately, the spare writing style left me feeling completely lost as to what was going on most of the time.