Wild Thorn

This is my first book by William Hoffman and I almost did not read it. But I started and when I read his first paragraph, it was written so well that I read on. You could actually feel as if you could see what he was describing. I had not read such in colorful and in-depth narrative on the scenery for quite a while. This book is centered on a Vietnam veteran called Charley LeBlanc who is from a very prominent family. Yet we learn right away that he is the black sheep of the family and has a tough girlfriend he calls Blackie who lost an eye in a bar fight. They both have a criminal background and this helps to form their strong relationship with one another. They live in isolation in Montana when they decide to go visit Aunt Jessie Arbuckle in West Virginia. Though everyone calls her Aunt she is of no relation to anyone in the book. And when they arrive they find here dead under mysteries circumstances. A wild hermit named Esmeralda has been taken into custody because of this suspected murder. The authorities allude both that she is a suspect and also that they have taken her into custody for her own safety. Charley decides he has to do all he can for this poor woman and look into this murder that no one seems to want to talk about. The path he follows takes us on a slightly twisting path. The authors writing conjures up such vivid images that you read on. This is a good book to check out from your library.

William Hoffman has been publishing since the 1950s. His protagonist, Charles LeBlanc, is the black sheep of a wealthy family who has fled to Montana and now returned to West Virginia to butt heads with the local sheriff among others. This is the third Hoffman novel I've read and I liked the same protagonist in the earlier books. Hoffman's writing style is also strong and spare, what appeals to me.

I just love William Hoffman's work. He writes mysteries that feel real. The plot isn't some intricate conspiracy that has to be unraveled. It's a loose connection of facts that have to be worked and reworked for the protagonist to make progress. One small shred of evidence leads to the next until he builds a case. People lie to him and he sometimes gets distracted, pretty much like the real world. Hoffman has brought back Charley LeBlanc, the flawed but fascinating main character from his Hammett Award winning Tidewater Blood. Charley is a former Viet Nam vet and convict. He definitely has flaws but to me that's what makes him fascinating. I think the best mysteries are the ones where the detective isn't a cop. Hoffman clearly knows the mountains of West Virginia. Whether it's his vivid description of the land and wildlife, his depictions of the people who inhabit the abandoned coal mine towns or the history of the region, you'll feel you've been there when you finish the book.

Charley LeBlanc comes from a rich and powerful Tidewater, Virginia family, but that doesn't mean he had an easy life. His father was a drunken abusive person so Charley left home to join the army and served in Vietnam. He was dishonorably discharged and did hard time in Leavenworth. He finally has his act together living with his lover Mildred "Blackie' Spurlock in an isolated area of Montana.He and Blackie return to Cliffside in Shawnee County, West Virginia to check up on Aunt Jessie Arbuckle, a woman who befriended him when many others turned their backs on him. He arrives to find Aunt Jessie dead and Esmeralda, a homeless woman who depended on the charity of Shawnee County to feed and clothe her, charged with her murder. Charley knows through the ties that bind him to Esmeralda that the wrong person is locked away and he intends to find the real perpetrator.William Hoffman uses words to convey colorful images in the mind's eye so that the reader senses the environment that the flawed protagonist struggles to adapt to so he can have a peaceful life. Charley is an anti-hero who makes very serious mistakes but is likable because of the tenderness he shows to those few people that he cares about. The story line is beautiful in its simplicity but the author writes about complex people who are put in difficult situations and that makes this novel a fabulous read.Harriet Klausner

William Hoffman has again written a book replete with strong characters and a complex plot. Hoffman is a genuine southern writer of the old school, with a sense of place imbuing everything that happens, and all that his people think and do. His prose is tight and at the same time graceful, and there are always fine, spare descriptive passages that ask to be reread just to savor the choice of words.While you may not be crazy about some parts of the personality of Charley LeBlanc, you understand him and share his sense that right should be done. There is a lot to right in this story, and Charley's fundamental beliefs are surprisingly sound and surprisingly effective.It would have been nice to see more of attorney Walter Frampton, a recurring Hoffman character, but the addition of Blackie to his cast almost makes up for it. Blackie is Charley's love interest, and gives him the chance to show some extra dimension. The reader leaves them hoping it will all work out for them, long-term, and delighted with the wry humor Hoffman applies to the man-woman relationship.