Dreamland

Newton Thornburg is one of the most underrated crime novelists.Most of his books are out of print so it was great to see Serpents Tail releasing some of his earlier works.I first discovered Thornburg with the brilliant "Cutter & Bone", which included an excellent introduction by George Pelecanoes.Since then I have read "To Die in California", "Eve's Men" and now "Dreamland".Dreamland is about a drifter called Crow who is returning home to visit his father.He picks up hitchhiking young girl, Reno and together they get drawn into investigating an apparent suicide that Crow has suspicions about. Like previous Thornburg books it soon becomes apparent that people in rich and powerful places are behind the crime and the pair are soon in over their heads.As usual Thornburg creates interesting characters (on both sides of the law) and I found myself drawn into Crows and Renos plight, eager to find out their fate.Newton Thornburg deserves to be a lot better known and read. I would imagine he is a big influence on today's crime writers and I intend tracking down as many of his books as I can.