Forsaken Country

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Max Rupert has left his position as a Minneapolis homicide detective to live in solitude. Mourning the tragic death of his wife, he's also racked by guilt-he alone knows what happened to her killer. But then the former local sheriff, Lyle Voight, arrives with a desperate plea: Lyle's daughter Sandy and his six-year-old grandson Pip have disappeared. Lyle's certain Sandy's ex-husband Reed is behind it, but the new sheriff is refusing to investigate.

When Max reluctantly looks into their disappearance, he too becomes convinced something has gone very wrong. But the closer Max and Lyle get to finding proof, the more slippery Reed becomes, until he makes a break for the beautiful but formidable Boundary Waters wilderness with vulnerable Pip in tow.

Racing after the most dangerous kind of criminal-a desperate father-and with the ghosts of their own pasts never far behind, Max and Lyle go on the hunt within a treacherous landscape, determined to bring an evil man to justice, and to bring a terrified child home alive.

"Allen Eskens . . . produces some of the best cat-and-mouse games I have read. This is a novel that you will not easily forget." -BookReporter

"The search for mother and child fuels the brisk plot, but Forsaken Country spins on Eskens' in-depth character studies. . . . Eskens is at the top of his skills." -Oline H. Cogdill, The South Florida Sun Sentinel

"The suspense never flags . . . heart-pounding and heartfelt, Forsaken Country should be at the top of your to-be-read list."- Heather Gudenkauf

Reviews

Praise for The Stolen Hours--_

"Eskens provides an irresistible hook, a clever spin on a classic suspense plot, and a series of expertly escalating confrontations. . . . Guaranteed to keep your heart pounding till the end."

--Kirkus Reviews
"Forsaken Country is a story of darkness, love, and redemption; a novel that will stay with you long after you mourn turning the last page. And it solidifies Allen Eskens as one of the finest literary crime writers working today."--Alex Finlay, author of The Night Shift
"Forsaken Country is Allen Eskens at his most raw and brutal as he produces some of the best cat-and-mouse games I have read . . . There is redemption to be had, but the price may be too high for his characters to pay. This is a novel that you will not easily forget."--BookReporter
"A riveting, hold-your-breath, frightening mystery. The Stolen Hours is a thoroughly captivating legal thriller."--Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Wife
"Allen Eskens serves up this excellent suspense novel that will keep you riveted."--The Globe and Mail
"As good as it gets; a heart-pounding and utterly engaging thriller that had me turning the pages at warp speed. I loved this book!"--Karen Dionne, New York Times bestselling author of The Marsh King's Daughter
"Beautifully written and expertly crafted, Forsaken Country has everything we've come to love about an Allen Eskens novel--deeply developed characters, a smart plot, and plenty of suspense to keep the pages turning."--Charlie Donlea, USA Today bestselling author of Twenty Years Later
"Eskens weaves a gut-punching and deeply satisfying story. His characters are indelible. His protagonist becomes a familiar friend with an unflinching honesty about who he is and what his past means. Forsaken Country is not only a propulsive mystery with a lot of soul, but also an addictive chase into the untamed wilderness of the Boundary Waters and the Quetico-Superior country."--Diane Les Becquets, author of The Last Woman in the Forest
"In Forsaken Country, Allen Eskens delivers in all the ways that matter. Story, character, suspense--I loved it all. This author deserves a round of applause, and this book a massive audience."--John Hart, New York Times bestselling author of The Unwilling
"In Forsaken Country, Allen Eskens' expert storytelling is on full display. Eerie and beautifully told, it had me mesmerized from the very first page. . . . The suspense never flags in this chilling and layered portrait of a man's desperate search for a missing child and his own redemption. Heart-pounding and heartfelt, Forsaken Country should be at the top of your to-be-read list."--Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and The Overnight Guest
"In Allen Eskens' newest thriller The Stolen Hours, there's not a moment misplaced or a second lost. With the precision of a watchmaker, Eskens assembles the fine parts of a mystery set to the tempo of a thriller, leaving the reader breathless." --Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries
"The best stories test our view of the moral universe, which is one of the many reasons I love the work of Allen Eskens. Forsaken Country is a shining example of what fine crime fiction offers--a tight plot, intriguing characters, and important ethical questions. In this tale of a kidnapped boy and the men who desperately seek to save him, Eskens offers no easy answers, but delivers a taut Northwoods thriller with a raging pace guaranteed to sweep you along from first page to last. This is one of our best crime writers at the top of his game."--William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of THIS TENDER LAND
"The search for mother and child fuels the brisk plot, but Forsaken Country spins on Eskens' in-depth character studies. Eskens imbues Forsaken Country with vivid scenery, especially in the Boundary Waters . . . Eskens is at the top of his skills." --Oline H. Cogdill, The South Florida Sun Sentinel

Author Bio

Allen Eskens is the USA Today bestselling author of The Life We Bury, which has been published in twenty-six languages, and five other novels, most recently The Stolen Hours, The Shadows We Hide, and Nothing More Dangerous. His books have won the Barry Award, the Rosebud Award, the Silver Falchion Award, and the Minnesota Book Award. Eskens is a former criminal defense attorney and lives with his wife, Joely, in greater Minnesota.