SKIN RIVER Steven Sidor 2004 ISBN:0312329490 St. Martin's Minotaur

Buddy Bayes is a simple man. He likes to walk along the river in the small Wisconsin town where he lives, he runs a tavern that does pretty well. He lives simple and likes it that way. But, fate has other plans for him. Buddy discovers the body of a missing girl.

Suddenly, turmoil becomes the norm as police search for a serial killer, with him as a possible suspect. Add a past that is fast catching up with him and a brother that is more than a little eccentric and before too long the word normal just doesn't apply to Buddy's life anymore.

Sidor's first novel has such wonderful sense of place that I actually checked a map for the town. I could swear I've been there. His characters are so real I can visaulize their breath in the cold air.

I started this book unsure of what to expect. What I got was similar to getting into a car and having the driver say, "hold on to something" as he floors the gas and peels away. It moves so fast you barely have time to look around. A great book.

Jon