Bad Country

By: C. B. McKenzie

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Winner of the Tony Hillerman Prize, Bad Country is a debut mystery set in the Southwest starring a former rodeo cowboy turned private investigator, told in a transfixingly original style.

Rodeo Grace Garnet lives alone, save for his old dog, in a remote corner of Arizona known to locals as the Hole. He doesn't get many visitors, but a body found near his home has drawn police attention to his front door. The victim is not one of the many illegal immigrants who risk their lives to cross the border just south of the Hole, but is instead a member of one of the local Indian tribes.

Retired from the rodeo circuit and scraping by on piecework as a private investigator, Rodeo doesn't have much choice but to say yes when offered an unusual case. An elderly Indian woman has hired him to help find who murdered her grandson, but she seems strangely uninterested in the results. Her indifference seems heartless, but as Rodeo pursues his case, he learns that it's nothing compared to true hatred - and he's about to realize just how far hate can go.

C. B. McKenzie's Bad Country captures the rough-and-tumble corners of the Southwest in accomplished, confident prose, with a hard-nosed plot that will keep readers riveted.

©2014 CB McKenzie (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great book!

The author C.B. McKenzie reminds me a bit of James Lee Burke one of my favorite authors. Mark Bramhall did a wonderful job of narrating. I will look forward to more from both McKenzie and Bramhall.

Excellent book. On all aspects

I truly enjoyed this very human story. All the characters are interesting and realistic. The region is spot on and the main "hero" is believable and superbly crafted. You end up caring about the story. The narrative is perfect, does not get in the way yet is excellent on all the parts. I highly recommend it

Different take on western mystery

I'm hooked! This was a journey into a different west than others I've taken. Refreshing characters, well plotted, plenty(!) of local culture. It was a great, but too brief, diversion. I can't wait for the next installment in Rodeo's adventures....

Really tough gritty South West Detective tale...

I really enjoyed this one. its tough. the characters are tough. the subject matters are tough. but i liked it.

the Narrator did an excellent job.

Just OK

I'm not so sure I would purchase another. The author often seems to struggle at adding enough words to reach some goal and seems to unwittingly slip back and forth between first person and third. The reader seems to be as challenged by staying in character.

Characters

Only a very few had any drmeeming value as people', most were just a waste of space their world.

Not quite Tony Hillerman

I started this book expecting it to like a Tony Hillerman book. Thus, I was disappointed. But as the book progressed, I realized that this was not fair. On its own merits, I enjoyed both the story and the narration.

Gritty crime novel

a bit slow at to limes but still well worth the listen. the narration was top notch.

A take as dry as the upper Sonoran, yet like the sand and sahuaro filled desert surprisingly full of hidden life.

Written by someone who knows the land and people of desert in and around Tucson and Valley of the sun aka Phoenix. A private eye story gritty and honest in its portrayal of the down and under, the bitter and the rich who inhabit this story. The flavor of the reading is intense in its realistic rendering of vocal inflections of people one usually would walk to the other side of the street to avoid. The stench of a alcohol and urine soaked reality of some of the protagonist are presented with a dignity seldom given the people of the underclass. Even their participation which is unexpectedly inclusive in the story, which suffers from no loss of rich character development of both villain and anti-heroes alike. I would highly recommend this as a mystery, as well as a glimpse into a world populated with drunks, killers, politicians, police, and old dogs who in the end are as unforgettable as the desert they inhabit.

Sucks you in

Excellent first book
The author truly makes you feel like you are in southern Arizona. The feeling of poverty and desolation is intense. The book was suspenseful throughout and a great read.