 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
||
 |
256 pages | $24.95 (cloth) | $12.95 (paper)
|
|
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . | ||
Thirst summary Stu Carlson serves people drinks. Night after night, in the dry Texas heat, he stands behind the bar and listens to troubles and sorrows and worries and regrets—not too far off from his old position behind a pulpit. Doling out counsel and care, Stu’s a compassionate man. When the scotch he serves Andrew Washburn—Dean of Fine Arts and all-around asshole—turns out to have been poisoned, Stu is shaken. A regular at Stu’s bar, meek and talented Daniel Lackland, is arrested for the crime. It seems he had means and opportunity to spike the drink—and the most classic of motives. Two years earlier, Washburn stole Daniel’s wife. But Stu knows better. He believes in Daniel, believes in the power to of a man to move on after his wife leaves him. Hell, he has to—after all, Jocelyn left him, and he’s doing alright. Isn’t he? Stu’s plight to clear Daniel and find out the truth behind Washburn’s murder isn’t just about saving an innocent man from prison. Stu confronts his belief in himself, his loss of faith, and his realization that ministering to those in need can be done just as well with dishrag and beer tap at hand. |
||
| .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . | ||
Praise for Thirst Set at a fictional Texas university, Larson's sharp debut blends religion, philosophy and murder. The day after finalizing her divorce from talented artist Daniel Lackland, Gwen Lackland marries Dr. Andrew Washburn, Travis University's pompous and very shady dean of fine arts. This makes Daniel a prime suspect after the dean is poisoned by cyanide-laced Scotch while drinking at a university function where Stu Carlson, a divorced former minister, is tending bar. Stu, who not only admires Daniel's art but also had an anonymous one-night stand with Gwen just a few days before, tries and fails to resuscitate Washburn, and becomes obsessed with solving the crime. Though his informal sleuthing makes him a target and he's warned repeatedly by Travis City authorities to steer clear of their investigation, Stu's conflicted but stubborn faith and belief in Daniel's innocence help to close a case complicated by greed, art and love. Although some of Stu Carlson’s colleagues consider his career transition strange, the ex-minister and current bartender at the Longhorn Lounge doesn’t think it’s that much of a stretch. He serves up drinks and lends a willing ear to the troubles of his regulars while trying to forget about his cheating ex-wife. Then he gets word that his ex-wife has accepted a new position as assistant minister at a local church, and he serves a drink laced with cyanide to Andrew Washburn, the much-hated dean of fine arts at Travis University. When the cops learn that Daniel Lackland, a talented artist and one of Stu’s regulars, lost his wife to Washburn, they arrest him for murder. Stu can’t help but become involved in clearing Daniel’s name, especially since he sees his own marital woes so starkly reflected in the young man’s troubles. This debut novel suffers from some missteps in plot execution but more than compensates with its colorful lead character—it’s not often you find a detective who chooses Johnathan Edwards’ sermons as recreational reading. |
||
| .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . | ||
Pete Larson has worked as a bartender and studied for the ministry but was never ordained. He grew up in the Midwest, went to school in Texas, lived in New York and Montana. Now he's back home in the Midwest.. |
||
