Peter Rennebohm

The talented Peter Rennebohm is back with a new tale featuring Charlie Nash and his dog in SHEPHERD LAKE ©2015. We first met Charlie, some years ago, in BLUE SPRINGS. Both books are written in the tradition of vintage adventure stories, full of suspense and derring-do.

Rennebohm writes with the joyous ordinariness of a Norman Rockwell painting, those tributes to 20th century American culture. One can easily imagine a couple of boys laying in the long grass, this book between them, devouring every word. But, like a Norman Rockwell, we see that our first impression is illusory—closer study reveals squalor just beneath the surface.

In SHEPHERD LAKE, Charlie has reached his mid-teens, but life events have left him troubled. He accumulates dangerous influences, some of his own making—he’s headstrong and reckless. Some are not—strange men appear in these supposedly uninhabited woods. Old, and possibly valuable, secrets are uncovered. Unbeknownst to Charlie, at least one man is vicious and depraved.

Will he know whom to trust? In time? We hope Charlie and his friends will survive this maelstrom, though it seems certain they cannot survive every obstacle. No doubt they will be changed. How great will the damage be?

You’ll just have to pull up a chair and find out. In case you’re a bit worried, Charlie’s dog, Taffy, is a golden retriever. And she has a part to play in this story. Need I say more?

P.S. On my name url you'll also find a link to my review of the first in the series, BLUE SPRINGS. I recommend you read them in order.… (mais)

The year is 1955, and 11-year-old Charlie has problems. His father's a drunk (which for some reason takes multiple chapters and three separate incidents to get across; I get it, move on), so he runs away. Though the full title is "Blue Springs: A Suspense Novel," there isn't a whole lot of suspense. Some unbelievable bad guys chase after Charlie, but it's so obvious that all the good guys will emerge without a scratch that there's never any real tension. And the difference between good guys and bad guys is incredibly easy to spot. The characters are better described as caricatures, as everyone is either 100% good or 100% evil. To make matters worse, grammatical and typographical errors abound, distracting from the flow of the story.

To be fair, had there been no advertisement for suspense I may have felt somewhat more charitable. There's no excuse for the repeated punctuation abuse and overall sloppy writing, but as a family drama this plot just might work. I still would not have liked it - I don't watch made-for-TV movies on the Hallmark Channel either, after all - but my expectations would have been more realistic. The back cover is filled with good reviews so clearly there is an audience for this book somewhere. I just don't happen to be part of it.… (mais)

A good old-fashioned treasure hunt complete with coded messages, an intriguing mystery. Peter Rennebohm has written a book that takes us from WWII, to the Navajo rez, to the final destination. The book is particularly interesting for the bits and pieces of history and Navajo lore and beliefs interspersed throughout. Full of well-defined characters, are they really who they seem to be? That is the question.

The story begins simply enough, the main character, Augustus (Gus) Ivy, has gone to his barber for a haircut. Not usually an exciting moment in one’s life. But, Frank, the barber, is somewhat distracted while wielding the scissors. It appears he had been talking about the war and in particular his unit when he drifted off into memory. Gus was curious to hear his story however, and so Frank continues his tale, which includes a book sent to each surviving member of his unit by the parents of one of the soldiers who was killed in action. He also shows Gus a letter that came with the book, the last paragraph appearing to be an invitation to locate something buried within its pages and cover. Gus, a collector of books by the author, who also happens to be the mother of the downed soldier, decides to buy a box of books from Frank, including the book he was sent. Frank agrees, and with this seemingly innocuous purchase, the story takes off.

On reading the book, Gus feels it is definitely not one of her best, it seems choppy and not particularly full-fledged and the dust-jacket is different from others. It is at this time that Gus learns that Frank has been brutally killed and suspicions begin to arise. The book appears to have taken on a life of its own, and seemingly is of great importance to some very nasty people. It doesn’t appear to be a particularly valuable book in and of itself, so why is it becoming so important? Gus sets off with his dog following what might possibly be a clue and the action truly begins.

The mystery builds throughout the book and where it appears some things should be a bit obvious, they probably are not. The action heats up as others join in the hunt with and against Gus. There is a side story that takes place on the Navajo rez that is a nice break from the action, although serious in nature. Some characters are expendable and some are not, but the determination is not always as simple as it appears. A good mystery, the excitement of the race to solve the mystery and perhaps discover treasure is catching. In a way it is an enjoyable read regardless of bodies dropping throughout. Peter Rennebohm has authored two previous novels, “French Creek” and “Blue Springs” and I will be seeking them to read. I am happy to recommend this focused, yet layered book.… (mais)