Big Breath In

Praise

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