Author: John Galligan
Publisher: JOHNSON BOOKS, Sep 2005
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 1-932557-12-1
Synopsis
The Dog is back in Wisconsin, in the heart of Amish country. All is going well until he's bitten by a beaver. Well, that and the fact that a local artist has been murdered. Half-drunk and completely feral, the Dog avoids getting sucked in, but sometimes the pull is too strong.
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REVIEWS:
"Ned "the Dog" Oglivie lives in an old RV, crisscrosses the country to hit all the trout streams, and swigs vodka. But when he discovers a fellow fisherman's body in a Wisconsin stream, he also meets another oddity-one Melvina O'Malley-who tampers with the evidence and then appeals to the Dog for help. For some reason, he sticks around, encountering a red-neck fish poacher; a dangerously half-educated police chief; a retired, whiskey-guzzling fish biologist; and a crusading, crippled fly tier. In the first installment of a new mystery series, Galligan (Red Sky, Red Dragonfly), a Wisconsin-based college writing professor, portrays these radiantly quirky characters with deft strokes, pulling their strings with panache and outlining their world with humor and acceptance. A real treat."
-- Library Journal
"The Nail Knot by John Galligan is an original and deftly written murder mystery about Ned "Dog" Oglivie, a dedicated fly fisherman in Wisconsin who is unfortunate enough to find the disfigured and dead body of Jake Jacobs (Dog's fellow fly fisher and a late-coming agitator trying to save Black Earth Creek). Confronted with n entire small town of suspects, Dog's desire to leave the town is thwarted and he must solve the mystery and find the killer -- and in doing so, Dog comes to rediscover what it means to care about another human being, whether living or dead. The Nail Knot is a terrific mystery that rivets the readers rapt and total attention from beginning to end!"
-- Midwest Book Review
"Ned "Dog" Oglivie, the hero of Madison author John Galligan's first mystery, The Nail Knot, has taken to heart the bumper sticker "When the going gets tough, the tough go fishing."
...even mystery readers who wouldn't dare set one foot in a muddy creek will enjoy Galligan's breezy tale, which has a roster of engaging characters and a solid mystery plot that plays fair with the reader. Plus, when you least expect it, Galligan throws in a great sex scene.
Best of all, Dog is an appealing sleuth, sort of a Philip Marlowe in hip waders, and seeing him gradually reconnect with Junior (and, by extension, the world at large) is an enjoyable trip. Let's hope The Nail Knot is the start of a new series--there's a lot of trout streams out there, and Dog's RV is all gassed up."
-- Rob Thomas, The Capital Times
"Galligan's The Nail Knot moves like a Wisconsin spring creek-now tumbling and light-specked, now deep and ponderous, always keeping you fixed on the next bend. This fine meditation on man and nature's frailty but ultimate resilience belongs on the bookshelf with Jim Harrison, Robert Traver, and Harry Middleton."
-- John G. Motoviloff, Driftless Stories and Fly Fisher's Guide to Wisconsin
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
John Galligan, author of Red Sky, Red Dragonfly and The Nail Knot teaches writing at Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wisconsin, where he lives with his wife and two sons.
