Vivid, immersive and endlessly fascinating, Calico is an unforgettable investigative thriller that will burrow into your brain and set up shop before completely blowing your mind. Lee Goldberg has crafted a tale that is as engrossing and inventive as anything you’ll read this year. A creative novel that you won’t be able to stop thinking about for a long time.
In Barstow, California a vagrant is killed when hit by a RV in the middle of the night. At the same time, a man driving through town on the interstate disappears without a trace. These separate incidents are given to ex-LAPD detective turned San Bernardino County detective Beth McDade to investigate. As she gathers clues and evidence, a connection between the two cases arises and ties back to events in Calico, a small mining town from the late-1800s. Faced with shocking revelations that defy logic, Beth must tread carefully to unlock the entire unbelievable mystery before she is shut down by powerful forces that will do anything to keep the situation from becoming public.
I lost sleep over Calico. Yes, it was incredibly difficult to put down and so I read late into the night. But that’s not all. I just couldn’t stop thinking about the overall concept. It opened a Pandora's box of what-if questions that got stuck in my head. And when I did fall asleep, I dreamt about the book and woke up thinking about it even more. And even a week later I still can’t shake it. Because Calico is more than a police procedural or crime novel. Way more. And the method by which the story is told, switching back and forth between present day Barstow and Calico from the late-1800s, makes it damn near impossible to stop reading as the intrigue increases and the story sinks it’s hooks into you deeper and deeper. You get absolutely invested in certain characters and have a burning desire to know what happens next, asking yourself over and over how you would respond if put in similar situations. I would say more but won’t dare risk spoiling the experience for readers. Best to go into this one knowing as little as possible.
Calico is alluring and entrancing. Extraordinarily thought-provoking and riveting. Memorable and mind bending. Something exceedingly different from the typical thriller. A fantastic book expertly crafted by Lee Goldberg and gifted to readers.
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