North Country - by Matt Bondurant (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A taut literary thriller set along the northern border, North Country explores the monsters frozen in the depths of the human soul.

North Chazy, New York is the heart of the North Country, a frigid region nestled against the Canadian border, characterized by the beautiful landscapes of the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain--plus a steady stream of Quebecois drugs flowing south, spirited by snowmobile across the ice.

Tom Kaiser, fresh off a dishonorable discharge from the Air Force, returns to North Chazy for his ailing father's final days. It's an uneasy homecoming--ever since his little sister was lost under the ice in mysterious circumstances when they were children, Kaiser has felt a terrible presence swimming in the deep.

Needing work, Kaiser falls in with Donnie LeClair, a slumlord, loan shark, and aesthete whose private collection of landscapes would rival a modest museum's. Kaiser earns his keep roughing up unsavory locals who are late on their rent. But his true value is his aptitude for satellite telemetry, allowing him to find gaps in border surveillance, a useful skill for working with a Montreal kingpin who wants to move large quantities of ecstasy into the US.

As Kaiser spirals through the underbelly of drugs and crime, he finds the roots of evil run deep in the North Country--as bleak, impenetrable, and foreboding as the frozen lake.

Review Quotes

"Absolutely captivating...Bondurant pulls you right to the deep end in North Country. Vividly imagined and brilliantly written, you won't want to miss this literary thriller."

-- "Don Winslow, #1 internationally bestselling author"

"Bondurant's absorbing novel about intersecting lives in a small town and the ripple effect of fateful decisions is infused with pathos and driven by intriguing characters and excellent plot twists."

-- "Booklist"

"Immersive...Multilayered characterizations and evocative prose enrich the proceedings. For literary thriller fans, it's worth a look."

-- "Publishers Weekly"

"Matt Bondurant has gotten better with each book, and this literary crime novel is his best yet. If this doesn't center him on the map, find me a new map."

-- "Tom Franklin, New York Times bestselling author"

"Matt Bondurant's North Country is a beautifully bleak crime drama, chock-full of unforgettable characters. The fictional border town of North Chazy, left for dead in a world that's passed it by, feels so real it hurts."

-- "Ben McKenzie, New York Times bestselling author of Easy Money and lead actor on The O.C. and Gotham"

"Bondurant is a nimble writer...[His] prose is lyrical when the whiskey floods in, but also when the blood flows out."

-- "The New York Times, praise for the author"

"Bondurant writes fiercely and passionately...We are aware from the first page that we are in the hands of a remarkable storyteller."

-- "San Francisco Chronicle on The Wettest County in the World"

"Only a writer of Bondurant's skill could achieve such complicated braiding."

-- "Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author, on Oleander City"