Black Angus (30 page)
Authors: Newton Thornburg
During the slaughter he had come upon the bull once and had let it run off. But finally it was the only animal left and Blanchard followed it into the woods at the base of the knob, meeting it in a small opening in the close-growing cedars. As before, the bull stood glaring at him with the same old mindless hatred, as if he were just any man and not Tommy's brother.
Blanchard decided against hitting the bull in the chest as he had most of the others and instead aimed directly at its head, at a point a few inches below the poll. Then he squeezed the trigger and the animal crashed to the ground. While its legs were still thrashing he turned and walked away, moving out of the woods and across the field toward his house in the distance. His clothes were heavy with sweat and he was aware of his heart pounding hard. He did not feel good or bad. He felt alive. That was all.
Jimbo Slade is a suspect in a number of rape and murders in Seattle. He's outwitted the police and justice system before. But when the brutal killer targets Kathy Baird, her father takes matters into his own hands. Turning the tables, Jack Baird slowly wins Slade's trust, and soon he finds himself sharing Slade's lifestyleâcruising the city's sewers, lying to his family and the cops. He knows he can trust no oneânot with the ruthless justice he has planned.
Wanted as a material witness in a drug-smuggling case, Gregg Kendall is hiding out at his family's old Chicago home. While there, he finds himself thinking about his long dead siblings, older brother Cliff and twin sister Kate. The two died in a car crash years before, and as Gregg revisits and relives the memories of his childhood, he awakens long-buried secrets from the family's pastâincluding memories of his relationship with his twin that were better left undisturbed.
Cutter is a scarred and crippled Vietnam veteran, obsessed with a murder he's convinced his buddy, Bone, witnessed. That it was committed by the powerful tycoon JJ Wolfe only makes Cutter even surer that Bone saw the unthinkable.
Captivated by Cutter's demented logic, Bone is prepared to cross the country with Cutter in search of proof of the murder. Their quest takes them into the Ozarksâhome base of the Wolfe empireâwhere Bone discovers that Cutter is pursuing both a cold-blooded killer, but also an even bigger and more elusive enemy.
Two apparent suicides and a pair of brutal sex murders plunge would-be starlet Foxy Reno and ex-hippie drifter Crow into the dark underbelly of Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. As Crow and Reno embark on a manhunt, they discover the dark side of desire in white-hot California.
A classic bad seed and his good-guy brother fall in love with the same woman. Wild man Brian demolishes a movie set as revenge against the studio he feels is defaming him. As Brian rampages from Colorado to Seattle with girlfriend Eve in tow, his brother Charley follows, unnerved by Brian's increasingly violent behavior.
Eve, Brian, and Charley are on a crusade ride through mayhem and madness, where one seeks justice, another seeks redemption, and all three seek something in the ruinsâeach other. EVE'S MEN is a fascinating ride with a wild man and those who love him.
After losing his wife, his parents, and his family farm, Tom Kohl is staying with his cousin Ken in Seattle as he tries to put his life back together. But things only go from bad to worse when Ken kills a man in a hit-and-runâa man who turns out to be the brother of Tony Jack Giacolone, Seattle's top mobster. Out of loyalty to his cousin, Tom agrees to help cover up the killing. But when he's spotted ditching the car by a cocktail waitressâwho happens to also be the girlfriend of a low level mobsterâthe stakes only get higher, and Tom must face what he's willing to do for family when his life is on the line.
The police call on David Hook at his farm in Illinois, telling him his son Chris has committed suicide. David doesn't believe them, he can't. He knows something else must have happened in California to cause Chris's death. Diving into the life of his son, David discovers corruption, immorality, and evil that shocks him to his very core, but it also awakens something lurking within, something he enjoys, something that poses an even bigger threat to those who hurt his son.
In the dystopian future, the government has collapsed, cities are burning, and roving gangs, called Mau Maus, are marauding across America. A drifter named Walter Stone finds refuge at a lakeside camp, where the survivors of a plane crash have met up with other refugees, and are struggling with a constantly changing cast of leaders, as well as limited supplies. Across the lake stands Valhalla, a house, well supplied with food and ammunition, where a junkman and his daughters live. The goal is to take control of Valhalla. The obstacles are certain death across the lake, roving bands of killers threatening the camp, and a way of life that is quickly slipping away.
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