Regional Books “Ruby Dreams,” “Blood Highway” and more

(University of Nebraska)

Ruby Gervais was 16 when she ran away from the turmoil in her small Versailles, Mont., town to join the Rivermen, a pop band. Now, 10 years later, the band has disintegrated, and Ruby returns home to find that not much has changed. She is a victim of her past.

Townspeople still remember that she was one of the children who charged adults with pedophilia and satanic rituals. Never mind that Ruby was only 8 at the time and came to believe the false charges after they were pounded into her by her foster father.

Ruby is also haunted by the savageness of the band’s breakup and her love for one of the Rivermen. His mental breakdown is so severe that he’ll be institutionalized for the rest of his life.

All this sounds pretty grim, and it is, but the starkness is relieved by the finely honed writing of author Mary Clearman Blew. A Montana native, Blew writes with insight and humor. Haunting the book is Ruby’s love of music, which is threaded through scenes past and present. Not only is Ruby a singer and pianist, but her halfbrother, Isiah, is a musician, and the grandmother who takes her in is a piano teacher. Ruby remembers snatches of songs as she faces old enemies and develops friendships.

Blew’s characters are finely wrought Westerners, and the book has a real sense of place evidenced by the way the locals mispronounce the name of the town of Versailles: “Versails.”

Blood Highway. By Gina Wohlsdorf (Algonquin Books)

In her second novel, Colorado author Gina Wohlsdorf tells a chilling tale of a 17yearold girl kidnapped by her bankrobber father who is searching for lost loot. It is a complicated story that shows people are not always who they appear to be. Rainy Cain already has a difficult life. Her whackedout mother has a chain on the refrigerator so that Rainy has to steal food or eat from garbage cans. The mother, who appears to neighbors to be the perfect 1950type homemaker, refuses to have anything to do with her daughter and in fact has not spoken to her in years.

Then Rainy comes home one day to discover her mother has committed suicide. A police officer sympathizes with her, and when he discovers there is no place for Rainy to stay, he takes her to his home for the night. No hankypanky. He’s a good guy.

Still, he can’t keep two men from kidnapping Rainy. One of them is the father Rainy’s never met. He, too, appears to be a good guy, but over time, Rainy discovers he’s a psychopath who believes his daughter knows where her mother hid $4 million taken from a bank robbery. The sometimes improbable story has the cop chasing all over the country after Rainy.

One nice touch in this actionfilled thriller is the father’s accomplice, who turns out to be an intriguing character.

Burning Ridge. By Margaret Mizushima (Crooked Lane)

Mattie Cobb has tackled a number of Timber Creek, Colo., mysteries, with the help of her German police dog, Robo. But she’s not prepared for the murder of a young man who was tortured, burned and buried high in the mountains.

That’s because the body is that of her estranged brother, Willie. The two were separated as young children after their abusive father was sent to prison for attacking their mother. Mattie and Willie had only recently reconnected, although they had not yet gotten together. Mattie can find no reason why, after vowing he would never return to Timber Creek, Willie is murdered there.

Mattie’s friend, Cole Walker, a veterinarian, finds the body and is determined to be part of the investigation, mainly to protect Mattie. The two have begun a discreet relationship although, haunted by her father’s sexual attacks, Mattie is reluctant to commit herself.

Then Mattie and other mem bers of the sheriff’s department discover three other graves dating back years. Mattie begins to suspect people she knows — wildlife managers and the father of a girl she has taken under her wing.

“Burning Ridge” is a suspenseful story, and Mattie is an engaging character. So is her K9 partner Robo, who is front and center in the Timber Creek mysteries.

American History. By J.L. Abramo (Down & Out Books)

A centuryold feud between two Sicilian families is the basis of a multigenerational book by Denver author J.L. Abramo. Against their families’ wishes, Guiseppe Agnello marries Francesca Leone and takes her to America. When Guiseppe joins the Army during World War I, Francesca and her son move in with her brother, Vincenzo, in Philadelphia. After she dies, Vincenzo moves to San Francisco, where he raises the son as his own.

Guiseppe returns home to find his wife and son have disappeared and spends his life searching for them. Fastforward to the current time when scions of the two families are locked in a deadly vendetta.

“American History” is a lively tale, although it suffers from too many characters and, at times, a lack of focus.

Sandra Dallas is a Denver author. Contact her at sandradallas@msn.com.