David A. Turrill

I really wanted to like this book, an obscure find at a book sale. However, it really was odd and so unrealistic as to make it just ... goofy. The story centers around "Tin" Balune, on the edge of 30 and suicidal after the murder of his wife Wendy (and suicide of his Father), both of which he believes were caused by his brother (pro baseball hopeful, then failure) Satchel. The story twists crazily with unreality after Tin "re" meets his neighbor's daughter, now 18. She gives him a will to live and the two go on a wild goose chase to Chicago, to find Wendy's real murderer. The truly unbelievable part is a bevy of shootouts, chasing and general depraved criminal behavior, all of which take place in the tourist-ridden area of Chicago. I live there, so maybe this is what made me so jaded, but seriously, you cannot even publicly urinate without the police ON you! So there is NO WAY any of this would have occurred unless every person surrounding this crew was deaf, dumb and blind. Also the love stories are so silly. Anyway, despite all my complaints, I LIKE Turrill's writing. He shines when probing the depths of human's suffering/pathos, so I don't think he has to go to such carnival lengths to show that. His characters showed a lot of promise (some were buffoons though), but I was more interested in seeing them develop than watch them go on a bloody crime spree through Navy Pier.… (mehr)