Calico - by Lee Goldberg (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg, comes an explosive, page-turning investigative thriller - with a mind-blowing twist.

There's a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert . . .

The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away.

But it's the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge . . . and a shot at redemption.

Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance.

His fate, all those years ago, and hers today are linked when Beth investigates an old skeleton dug up in a shallow, sandy grave . . . and also tries to identify a vagrant run-over by a distracted motorhome driver during a lightning storm.

Every disturbing clue she finds, every shocking discovery she makes, force Beth to confront her own troubled past . . . and a past that's not her own . . . until it all smashes together in a revelation that could change the world.

Review Quotes

"A superb twin-track thriller. Could be Lee Goldberg's best ever"

LEE CHILD, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"A genre-bending, gripping read"
HARLAN COBEN, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"I guarantee you've never read a crime novel like it. The X Files meets Deadwood. Totally gripping."
IAN RANKIN, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author

"A mind-bending thriller unlike anything I have read before"
LINWOOD BARCLAY, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author

"If you have time for only one mystery, one Western, and one SF this year, this will ding all three targets"
Kirkus Reviews

"A riveting mystery. . . Goldberg expertly paces the narrative, ensuring continuous engagement until the thrilling conclusion"
Mystery & Suspense Magazine

"A genre-busting, mystery-thriller that defies easy classification"
CrimeTime FM

"A cleverly complex plot wreathed in Goldberg's brilliant humour makes this a rocket-paced story"
Historical Novels Review (Editors' Choice)

"A remarkably unconventional crime novel that is warm, thrilling, and fun to read"
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

"Goldberg's plots are always first-rate, but this one is especially suspenseful and surprising"
Booklist

"Goldberg has crafted is a page-turning novel that has surprises up to the final page. Calico is arguably one of his best"
FirstCLUE

"Something altogether new, radical and exciting"
Paperback Warrior

"A double-barreled blast, melding the tense, edge-of-your-seat contemporary police procedural with a gritty 1880s Wild West tale"
The Roundup

"An entertaining story"
Library Journal

"Stunningly original - a magical mixture of a murder mystery and an old-fashioned Western"
MATT WITTEN, author of Killer Story

"Lee Goldberg delivers with the unapologetically savvy Beth McDade . . .Calico couples history with good old fashioned detective work"
YASMIN ANGOE, award-winning author of the Nena Knight series

"A tour de force of a novel"
JAMES ROBERT DANIELS, author of The Comanche Kid, a Spur Award finalist for Best Western Novel

"One of the most compelling novels I've read in a long time"
JAMES REASONER, Spur-Award finalist and author of more than 350 Westerns

"A two-fisted western mystery with a compelling heroine in Beth McDade. If you like the Yellowstone series and its spinoffs, you'll love Calico!"
PETER BRANDVOLD, multiple Spur Award finalist and Western Fictioneers Lifetime Achievement Award honoree

"If you're looking for an exciting mystery within a mystery, flawed characters who work toward redemption, and a few unexpected twists, you should read Calico"
Kings River Life Magazine