Big Breath In

by John Straley Narrated by Not Yet Available

Overview

This new standalone from the former Writer Laureate of Alaska and author of the acclaimed Cecil Younger
series introduces an amateur sleuth with an ax to grind-and a child to save.
Diagnosed with terminal cancer, retired marine biologist Delphine is on the brink of throwing in the towel.
She has outlived her PI husband and feels like a burden to her son and his growing family. One night, while
contemplating how to go on, Delphine witnesses a woman and her young child being victimized by her apparent
boyfriend. When Delphine later discovers the woman has gone missing, she embarks on a quest to track her
down and help her and the child.
What begins as a chance encounter balloons into an at-once zany and heartfelt rescue mission across the
Pacific Northwest. Along the way, Delphine encounters the dregs of humanity-grappling with schemers,
kidnappers, and murderers-as well as its joys. With the help of a few friends, a retired PI, and a queer biker
gang, Delphine becomes determined to stop the bad guys from getting away with it . . . knowing full well it may
be her last hurrah.
While Big Breath In stands alone, longtime Straley fans will recognize the characteristic wit, heart, and
contemplation of life that threads through every one of his books-and discover a new heroine to fall in love
with.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for Big Breath In

“For more than a quarter century, John Straley’s mystery and detective fiction has both enriched and diversified those genres at the same level as Dashiell Hammet, James Crumley, Carl Hiaasen and James Lee Burke. But in his new novel, Big Breath In, his deeply compassionate fiction transcends genre, taking us to altogether new places. Using the marine ecology work of his own internationally renowned wife, Jan, as a point of departure, John pays homage to the genius of one of the most beloved field biologists to ever emerge from the Pacific Northwest. No other fiction writer can do what John Straley has done." 
—Gary Paul Nabhan, recipient of the Western State Book Award, a John Burroughs Medal for Nature Writing, and the James Beard Award for Food Writing

“The main character in Big Breath In kicked my heart to pieces. Straley’s book reads like an entire ecosystem, embracing the behaviors of whale species and motorcycle gangs; the minds of ticks compared to those of humans; an Augustinian prayer; coruscating humor; people both tender-hearted and heartless. . . As in a healthy ecosystem, everything in these pages—human and otherwise—illuminates the rest. My (bruised!) heart is smitten with Big Breath In.”
—Melinda Mueller, author of Mary’s Dust

Praise for John Straley

“[Straley] writes crime novels populated by perpetrators whose hearts are filled with more poetry than evil.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“It’s always a pleasure to read Straley’s vivid studies of these folks—the slightly cracked, rugged and very funny characters of the Far North.”
—The Seattle Times

“Lesser writers look to their characters’ poor choices and attempts to rectify them, John Straley loves his characters for just those choices. Hölderlin wrote: 'Poetically man dwells on the earth.' Some of us wind up in limericks, some in heroic couplets. But damned near every one of us, sooner or later, ends up in one of Straley’s wise, wayward, wonderfully unhinged novels.”
—James Sallis, author of Drive and the Lew Griffin mysteries

“What a warm, engaging, profoundly human book this is: its skin crackling, its heart enormous and open. It's a mystery with judicious blasts of violence and dread, but it opens also onto the bigger mysteries—of community, of family, of place. The several lives that intertwine throughout the story reach moments of quiet grace that resonate stealthily but deeply.”
—John Darnielle, author of Wolf in White Van

“John Straley, one of Alaska’s best-known and best-loved writers, continues to deliver.”
—Anchorage Daily News

“Terrific . . . Like the earlier novels in the series, this one is funny and quirky, a lighter change of pace from the Younger books and a delight for fans of small-town comic mysteries with a bit of bite.”
—Booklist, Starred Review

“Excellent . . . Readers looking for action will be amply rewarded, but the book’s main appeal lies in the vividly drawn characters and the author’s enchanting descriptions of the Alaskan outdoors. This thoughtful look at the politics and culture of a bygone era should win Straley new fans.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Product Details

BN ID:	2940192599396
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	11/12/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged