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Tom Jorgenson is injured in a farming accident. His family rush to his bedside. But he's no ordinary farmer -- he's a former US vice-president and his daughter Kate Dixon is the current First Lady. Secret Service agent Bo Thorsen is on the case, and he reckons there's more than meets the eye to Jorgenson's tractor accident. He suspects David Moses who has escaped from a mental hospital -- and who once loved Kate Dixon -- has staged the incident to lure Kate to her childhood home in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Kate's husband Clay has more than just the running of the country on his mind. His marriage is looking rocky, he's not sure he can trust his senator father, and various aides are the victims of accidents which may or may not be suspicious. This was the first book I'd read by William Kent Krueger. He's a good plotter, writes muscular prose and grounds THE DEVIL'S BED very firmly grounded in Minnesota, swinging from farms to the city, with forays to Washington. The first half of the book is easily the strongest, as Thorsen, a man with an unconventional background, finds not everyone agrees with his conspiracy theory -- until events begin spiralling out of control, that is. The second half is more or less bog-standard conspiracy theory stuff, and a far less gripping read. I made it through to the end with no problem, but was more than a tad disappointed that the power and energy of the first part of the book wavered and that the book degenerated into corruption in government fare. Krueger's characterisation is a touch patchy as well. David Moses, the escaped mental hospital patient, is perhaps the most intriguing character in the book -- intelligent but with a horrific past. He is set against Bo, the boy rescued from living on the streets, who becomes an agent. I wasn't convinced, though, that Krueger can write female character that convincingly. Kate and her aunt Annie, both potentially fascinating, strong women, are little more than ciphers. I suspect this is a book where people's mileage may vary a great deal. Krueger's clearly a quality story-teller, but one or two misgivings stopped me from dubbing THE DEVIL'S BED an unequivocal success.
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, March 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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