2. Bearskin

By James A. McLaughlin     

Olman requested this as a Xmas present during our holiday visit with family, and his parents obliged.  He proceeded to read it immediately, said it was great read, and then lent it to me.  However, I didn’t read Bearskin until we returned home after the new year.  

Bearskin is a crime thriller with nature and dreamscape elements mixed in.  It’s about a regular guy with a troubled past who becomes caretaker of an Appalachian nature preserve in Virginia.  Before that, Rice Moore had done time in a Mexican prison for smuggling drugs for a cartel.  After being released, he takes on a new identity as Rick Morton.  Living in a remote private preserve would provide sanctuary and solitude until he figures out what to do with his life.  His peace is short-lived when he comes across a desecrated bear carcass and evidence of trespassing poachers.  His investigation, of course, sets off a gradual chain of events that eventually culminates in a semi-violent stand off.

After the pretty terrible writing in The Shining Girls, McLaughlin's work was like a breath of fresh air.  A decent novel is much more appreciated after experiencing a poorly written one.   Good fiction writing draws you into the narrative and the lives of the characters, while at the time same time, allowing you to enjoy the style and mood.   Bad writing makes you pause and internally roll your eyes at hackneyed dialogue or awkward phrasings, breaking whatever the flow the author is attempting to achieve.

By no means is Bearskin a work of art.  It’s a well-written thriller with a great premise that still relies on common genre tropes.  This review captures the typical limitations and flaws that beset genre novels written by white, male authors.  However, there are attempts to balance things out: Rick's boss is a woman, his love interest is almost three-dimensional and much is made about Rick being an ordinary guy who makes mistakes, many mistakes.  The review does highlight the typical triple threats “drugs, foreigners, the sanctity of the universal vagina”, which I first misread as 'virginia', which is fitting since the story is set in a pristine, nature preserve in Virginia - a 'virginal' sanctuary that gets beset by criminal Mexican invaders. Cuz you know those foreigners all want to exploit and destroy nature for the sake of money.  And Rice Moore, is of course, the white savior and protector.

But this is also what good writing can do, make you overlook the shortcomings and allow you to simply immerse yourself in a good book.

 p.s. This now makes it the third crime novel in a row, so time for a change of scenery!