Dry Bones in the Valley (Henry Farrell Series #1)

by Tom Bouman

Overview

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller
Winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel

When an elderly recluse discovers a corpse on his land, Officer Henry Farrell is drawn into a murder investigation that might tear his sleepy community apart. Tom Bouman's chilling and evocative debut introduces one of the most memorable new characters in detective fiction and uncovers a haunting section of rural Pennsylvania, where gas drilling is bringing new wealth and eroding neighborly trust.

Dry Bones in the Valley is the first book in the Henry Farrell series. Tom Bouman's Officer Farrell returns in Fateful Mornings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393243031
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2014
Series:	Henry Farrell Series , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	289,927
File size:	743 KB

About the Author

Tom Bouman is the author of The Bramble and the Rose, Fateful Mornings and Dry Bones in the Valley, which won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He lives in upstate New York.

Editorial Reviews

★ 06/01/2014
First, a reclusive old codger finds in his woods the body of a young man, apparently shot by a musket earlier in the winter. Less than 24 hours later, Officer Henry Farrell discovers his deputy shot dead in his car. It's imperative that they get help from outside law enforcement agencies, but Farrell best understands his rural northeastern Pennsylvania hamlet and can piece together the cases. An uneasy mix of old-timers, meth heads, and just plain poor people populates the region and some are selling out their mineral rights (think: fracking), pitting adjacent landowners against one another. If that's not enough, Henry literally stumbles over an ancient grave that might explain part of the current crime spree. But it's a wild ride to the finish line for this quiet, fiddler-loving officer. VERDICT Don't miss this assured opener for a sure-to-be-popular projected four-book series. Bouman's likable protagonist joins the ranks of police officers we want to know while introducing readers to an Appalachian region layered with story. This would appeal to fans of Craig Johnson, Julia Keller, and Wiley Cash.

Library Journal

"Grit-lit meets wry suspense, along with a keen rendering of place and politics."

New York Magazine (Six Books to Read this Summer)

"Debut author Tom Bouman is a gem… Recommended for your end of summer pleasure."

Book Reporter - Joe Hartlaub

"An exciting and disturbing debut… Bouman brings his world to life with texture that gives every room and vehicle and person a history and character, keeping us immersed in this mesmerizing and often terrifying story."

Michael Sims

"You would be hard-pressed to find a finer new series than Tom Bouman’s Henry Farrell novels because of the complexity of the plots or the richness of the characters, but what it really comes down to is just damn good writing."

Craig Johnson

"It's a mystery, yes, but it's also a love story between a man and the land and people he knows like the back of his hand. Dry Bones in the Valley is a gorgeous, lived-in novel, and Bouman's turns of phrase are chest-clutching in their beauty."

Hannah Pittard

"Raymond Chandler said that Hammett took murder away from the manor houses and gave it back to the people who actually commit it. Tom Bouman continues that tradition. Bouman's story is deceptively simple, layered with history, bearing the promise of lightness, of redemption."

James Sallis

"So smooth it's as if it was written on spring water. Shadowy, swift, impossible to put down. I was enraptured. Any justice and this writer will soon be a major star."

Joe R. Lansdale

"Some stories are so sad, you want them to have the comfort of a gentle storytelling voice. Tom Bouman extends this kindness in… his beautifully written first novel."

Marilyn Stasio

"Officer Henry Farrell is a shy man, but in his own ways just as ornery and tough as the cast of rugged characters who inhabit his Pennsylvania woods, where the mysteries are as old as love and grief. A rural cop with a keen intelligence and a wounded heart, Henry’s the right man to unearth the secrets of Dry Bones in the Valley. Tom Bouman’s debut novel is one you won’t want to miss."

Ed Falco

"[Incorporates] literary elements—thick atmosphere, regional rootedness, social scope—into an actual fast-paced mystery series."

New York Magazine - Boris Kachka

"A tough, edgy thriller that asks hard questions about the destruction of our environment, our local communities, and our families. Readers of smart literary thrillers are going to love this novel. I wish like hell that my name were on the cover."

Wiley Cash

"Tom Bouman is a remarkable new voice in contemporary fiction. Dry Bones in the Valley is a tightly crafted piece of rural noir that seems pulled from the earth itself, a profound look at the dark corners of rural America. Readers of Daniel Woodrell and Donald Ray Pollock will find much to love."

Steve Weddle

[An] outstanding debut... Henry's growth from a grief-stricken widower to a lawman with an inner resolve fuels the brisk plot, as does an evocative look at a changing landscape.-- "Publishers Weekly, starred review"

Bouman's debut shows rural noir at its finest: a poetically written mystery about a man struggling with his inner demons and an area of great natural beauty few had heard of before the natural gas boom.-- "Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review"

It's a mystery, yes, but it's also a love story between a man and the land and people he knows like the back of his hand. Dry Bones in the Valley is a gorgeous, lived-in novel, and Bouman's turns of phrase are chest-clutching in their beauty.--Hannah Pittard, author of The Fates Will Find Their Way

Officer Henry Farrell is a shy man, but in his own ways just as ornery and tough as the cast of rugged characters who inhabit his Pennsylvania woods, where the mysteries are as old as love and grief. A rural cop with a keen intelligence and a wounded heart, Henry's the right man to unearth the secrets of Dry Bones in the Valley. Tom Bouman's debut novel is one you won't want to miss.--Ed Falco, author of The Family Corleone

Tom Bouman is a remarkable new voice in contemporary fiction. Dry Bones in the Valley is a tightly crafted piece of rural noir that seems pulled from the earth itself, a profound look at the dark corners of rural America. Readers of Daniel Woodrell and Donald Ray Pollock will find much to love.--Steve Weddle, author of Country Hardball

You would be hard-pressed to find a finer new series than Tom Bouman's Henry Farrell novels because of the complexity of the plots or the richness of the characters, but what it really comes down to is just damn good writing.--Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire novels, the basis for the Netflix series Longmire

So smooth it's as if it was written on spring water. Shadowy, swift, impossible to put down. I was enraptured. Any justice and this writer will soon be a major star.--Joe R. Lansdale, author of Deadman's Road

A tough, edgy thriller that asks hard questions about the destruction of our environment, our local communities, and our families. Readers of smart literary thrillers are going to love this novel. I wish like hell that my name were on the cover.--Wiley Cash, New York Times best-selling author of A Land More Kind Than Home

Raymond Chandler said that Hammett took murder away from the manor houses and gave it back to the people who actually commit it. Tom Bouman continues that tradition. Bouman's story is deceptively simple, layered with history, bearing the promise of lightness, of redemption.--James Sallis, author of Drive

From the Publisher

Beautifully written.

Marilyn Stasio - New York Times

Henry Farrell [is] truly one of the most likable and dedicated law officers in the history of crime fiction. I loved every word of it.

Donald Ray Pollock

A standout debut with an authenticity of place and character rare in any form of literature.

Ivan Doig