Official Review: The Bullcatcher by Stephen Johnson
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Official Review: The Bullcatcher by Stephen Johnson
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Bullcatcher" by Stephen Johnson.]
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The Bullcatcher by Stephen Johnson is a novella that is short but extremely captivating. In an area where brush fires are common, Detective Jack Miller and forensics technician Kate Bowen arrive at a very disturbing scene after a long and grueling 18 hour day of facing situations related to the most recent raging fire. Join these two and their fellow professionals as they respond to a call for help from Mr. Charles Whitelaw, and elderly man stating that he did heed the order to evacuate his home due to the fire, only to return to a horrific and heart wrenching discovery outside of his home. Thankfully, only part of his stucco home succumbed to the fire before firefighters arrived to extinguish it.
Mrs. Lillian Whitelaw was not so lucky; hence, the reason for the call. Apparently the fire took the life of poor Mr. Whitelaw’s wife of some forty years and he stands up with great difficulty while dabbing his reddened eyes as Jack and Kate; Edward Ludowici, a firefighter, and paramedic Lachlan Reed approach.. He presents his theory of what happened to his wife and immediately Jack and Edward take a look around while Kate checks out the body. As they approach an area where a pile of burned metal lay, they discover something that could change the entire situation for the worse.
Miller hastens back to Mr. Whitelaw to get a clearer understanding of the situation. The discovery they just made in the yard could indicate that maybe they did not hear the old man correctly the first time. Excellent interrogation techniques and experience bring out the truth of the matter and I must say that I was totally surprised at the new twist in this story. What did it do to Mr. Whitelaw to realize that the land owned by his family for 126 years was on the verge of being partially snatched from his hands, and how did his wife factor into the situation? Better yet, why did he decide to become his own judge, jury, and executioner?
The Bull Catcher is a four-wheel drive vehicle with crash bars and an adjustable steel arm that ranchers use to catch wild bulls in the bush. Miller looked at the strange vehicle a short time after arriving at the scene, not realizing that this strange looking contraption would give him the additional clue he needed to make this not-so-clear muddle of information crystal clear. Case closed!
I enjoyed this brief story of six pages or so. It had enough information to make me wonder about events that took place both before and after this event and I could see a whole book based around the characters. I got the feeling that the team already knew each other from past experiences and I sure hope to know more about them. I understand that a full length novel may be in the works, and I look forward to reading it. I give this “a four out of four” because of the skill it takes to cram an entire story into such a short read. I highly recommend it!
***
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Mrs. Lillian Whitelaw was not so lucky; hence, the reason for the call. Apparently the fire took the life of poor Mr. Whitelaw’s wife of some forty years and he stands up with great difficulty while dabbing his reddened eyes as Jack and Kate; Edward Ludowici, a firefighter, and paramedic Lachlan Reed approach.. He presents his theory of what happened to his wife and immediately Jack and Edward take a look around while Kate checks out the body. As they approach an area where a pile of burned metal lay, they discover something that could change the entire situation for the worse.
Miller hastens back to Mr. Whitelaw to get a clearer understanding of the situation. The discovery they just made in the yard could indicate that maybe they did not hear the old man correctly the first time. Excellent interrogation techniques and experience bring out the truth of the matter and I must say that I was totally surprised at the new twist in this story. What did it do to Mr. Whitelaw to realize that the land owned by his family for 126 years was on the verge of being partially snatched from his hands, and how did his wife factor into the situation? Better yet, why did he decide to become his own judge, jury, and executioner?
The Bull Catcher is a four-wheel drive vehicle with crash bars and an adjustable steel arm that ranchers use to catch wild bulls in the bush. Miller looked at the strange vehicle a short time after arriving at the scene, not realizing that this strange looking contraption would give him the additional clue he needed to make this not-so-clear muddle of information crystal clear. Case closed!
I enjoyed this brief story of six pages or so. It had enough information to make me wonder about events that took place both before and after this event and I could see a whole book based around the characters. I got the feeling that the team already knew each other from past experiences and I sure hope to know more about them. I understand that a full length novel may be in the works, and I look forward to reading it. I give this “a four out of four” because of the skill it takes to cram an entire story into such a short read. I highly recommend it!
***
Buy "The Bullcatcher" on Barnes and Noble
Latest Review: "Deadly Secrets" by Robert Boris Riskin
