The Ghosts of Morning

by Richard Barre

Book Overview

In his Shamus Award-winning first novel, The Innocents Barre introduced audiences to Wil Hardesty, a private eye with a deep, dark past--and an uncertain future. Here, he plunges further into Wil's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425163008
• ISBN13: 9780425163009
• Release Date: June 1998
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 322 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Please welcome warmly, a new entry, Wil Hardesty

Listen to this. "[H]e let his eyes drift out onto green grass meticulously trimmed and maintained, an island of order in a sea of chaos." Or, "[H]e took the bridge over to the old Van Zant house, structurally unchanged . . . living room and dining room facing the water. But the color scheme was different. Either that or . . . " Get it? Richard Barre paints a canvas, sometime very detailed, sometimes impressionistic, and only when he's finished with it does he introduce you to his characters. Others do that as well. James Lee Burke comes to mind. They are poets who tell stories. Reread James Dickey's "Deliverance" and you'll see what I mean. Another point I enjoy about Barre is his respect for the Vietnam vet. I served in Vietnam so I am sometimes drawn to that genre. It's never as heroic or slash and dash as many authors make it; but Barry and a few others (Eisler, DeMille, Crais, Burke) speak to the fear, the lonlieness and the inability, ever, to distance oneself from it. Read Dick Winters' "Beyond Band of Brothers" to get a picture of the vets of Easy Company at Normandy, now in their 80's, able to recollect painful events in 'living color.' Here Wil Hardesty is asked after an 8 year hiatus of his best friend's funeral, to see if he can find Denny Van Zant. Van Zant was killed in Vietnam, possibly murdered, and his body decomposed over a decade. What was returned wasn't much. Now Maeve Van Zant was contacted by someone who claims to know where Van Zant is. Hardesty strongly urges her to forget it, and then relents and embarks on a mission of double cross, revenge, conspiracy, unexpected twists and retribution. Well written, highly recommended. 5 stars. Larry Scantlebury

Part of a great series

Richard Barre is, quite simply, a splendid writer. His gift for plotting is way beyond average, and his creation of Wil Hardesty--aging surfer with an aching heart--is pure inspiration. Barre never takes his narrative in expected directions but allows the plot to twist in on itself in elaborate coils so that his stories are never predictable. Each of his books is a treasure in itself.

Another Great Mystery writer! Excellent story, great read!!

I stayed up to 3am reading this book. Book is well plotted and has good character development. A must read for lovers of good mystery. You will love it!!

a wonderful read - fast-paced and moving

"The Ghosts of Morning" is the second of the series by Richard Barre that I have read and I am totally hooked! As introduced in "The Innocents", Wil Hardesty is an interesting and complex character. In this new book he is struggling with his recent divorce and his lingering guilt over his lost son and his life. His struggle is very human and full of emotion. The action in "The Ghosts of Morning" is fast-paced and suspenseful.The mystery and the tension combined with great characters with full bodied histories makes the book fly by. As eager as I was to get to the end and resolve the mystery I was reluctant to let go of the story and Wil. I wanted to know what he was going the next day after the book ends. This book is terrific follow up to "The Innocents" but not as sad. It does evoke a retrospective feeling of the time we sent our young boys off to a horrible unknown called Vietnam. It is a reminder that we can never be so casual with a generation again. I can't wait till Wil's next adventure.

Exceptional

Wil Hardesty is struggling to regain control of his life after his spouse Lisa divorce him. The aging California surfer turned private investigator thinks he has already lost this internal conflict just like the Nam fiasco in which he was a member of the losing team. However, in reality, Wil is slowly regaining his self respect. However, his own life recovery act is placed on hold when Maeve Van Zant, mother of his deceased buddy Denny (killed in Nam) and Trina (Wil's long lost love of his teen years), calls to ask for his help. Though Denny's remains were identified, Maeve, who is dying from emphysema, has received an extortion note claiming that the lad still lives. She wants Wil to investigate. Reluctantly, Wil agrees for old times sake even though he firmly believes that Denny is dead. Almost from the start, the simple case turns complex and multilayered as Wil struggles with the ghosts from his past to uncover whether his old surfing buddy still lives and who is behind the extortion plot. THE GHOSTS OF MORNING is a brilliant blending of a contemporary who-done-it with events from the last three decades. Wil is one of the most complex private detectives on the market today and his current novel provides more insight into his past and its link to his present motives. The complex and cerebral mystery will please fans of the genre. However, it is Wil who makes this and the previous novel (THE INNOCENTS) into must reading material because his character feels so genuine and human. Harriet Klausner