Publishers Weekly
★ 09/03/2018
Joe Talbert, last seen in Edgar-finalist Eskens’s debut, 2014’s The Life We Bury, is now a Minneapolis-based Associated Press reporter. In this brilliant sequel full of deeply developed characters, Talbert feels compelled to investigate after he runs across a story detailing the murder of Joe “Toke” Talbert, a person he never met but could have been his father, in the small southern Minnesota town of Buckley. A junk car collector rumored to be involved in more than a few felonious crimes, Toke could have been killed by any number of locals. Talbert’s search for answers becomes complicated when he discovers that Toke’s wife recently committed suicide and his late father stood in line to inherit millions. Eskens keeps readers guessing until the last pages in this darkly lyrical and brutally intimate story of one man’s journey of self-discovery. Agent: Amy Cloughley, Kimberley Cameron Agency. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
FINALIST — MINNESOTA BOOK AWARD, BEST GENRE NOVEL
FINALIST — BARRY AWARD, BEST NOVEL
"A rewarding sequel . . . The Shadows We Hide completes a one-two gut punch that was well worth the wait."—Ginny Greene, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"The Shadows We Hide is a riveting novel about one man's search for his father that becomes a perilous journey into a labyrinth of deceit and lies. Eskens vividly renders how small towns try to keep their secrets, and how sometimes they cannot."—RonRash, author of Serena
"Whether you like mysteries with surprise endings and terrific twists or you are a reader who never reads a mystery, but loves literary novels that explore the emotions that bring families together or tear them apart, you will want to read Allen Eskens's excellent novel, The Shadows We Hide."—Phillip Margolin, New York Times bestselling author of The Third Victim
"Talbert proves himself a true hero."—New York Times Book Review
"The search for the father is a favorite theme of authors and one that is perfectly suited to the detective story form. Allen Eskens has drawn an intricate and intriguing search map full of sharps turns and returns. Suspenseful, revealing, clear-eyed, and brightly told, The Shadows We Hide is a real experience, page to page to end page."—Fred Chappell
"The search for the father is a favorite theme of authors and one that is perfectly suited to the detective story form. Allen Eskens has drawn an intricate and intriguing search map full of sharp turns and returns. Suspenseful, revealing, clear-eyed, and brightly told, The Shadows We Hide is a real experience, page to page to end page."—Fred Chappell, author of I Am One of You Forever
"Riveting...Readers will enjoy trying to untangle all the clues."—Pioneer Press
"A brilliant sequel full of deeply developed characters... Eskens keeps readers guessing until the last pages in this darkly lyrical and brutally intimate story of one man's journey of self-discovery."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Murder, arson, betrayal, and reconciliation will keep pages turning and leave readers eager for more of Joe Talbert."—Booklist
