The San Diego Union-Tribune
June 19, 2005

Whodunit? Blame the new kid on the block

San Diego's mystery community, already rife with talent, continues to expand with the arrival of Jim Tenuto, who makes an impressive debut with "Blood Atonement."

Meet Dahlgren Wallace, once a star athlete, later a Gulf War veteran and commander of an elite Marine Corps special operations team. Following the war, Wallace left the service in search of a less violent environment. He found it in Montana's backwoods, where he works as a freelance fishing guide. It doesn't appear to be an especially dangerous occupation, but Wallace is about to learn otherwise.

Fred Lather made his billions in cable TV and has invested a portion of them in a sprawling ranch that includes his own private river. Wallace's job is to instruct Lather's current guests, Elden Elderberry, a wealthy Mormon entrepreneur, and his trophy wife Susi, in the joys and secrets of fly fishing. All goes well until Elden, testing a remote fishing hole, is bludgeoned to death. Since Wallace was the only other person in the vicinity, the authorities arrest him for murder.

It's clear to Wallace, if not the law, that he's been framed and that his only recourse is to unearth the real killer. There's no shortage of candidates, as Lather's purchase of the ranch and his plans for expansion has made enemies of nearly everyone in the neighborhood.

That includes a neo-Nazi militia; a radical environmental movement and their opposite number, a cattlemen's posse; plus two very different religious cults. Wallace must draw on the skills learned in special ops to save his skin and preserve his way of life.

Tenuto's thriller is not without its flaws. Like most first novels, it would benefit from judicious pruning; he tells us, for example, far more about fly fishing than we need to know. But he's a beguiling entertainer with a knack for creating intriguing characters – good reasons to hail him as a welcome addition to the local writing fraternity.

By Robert Wade
The San Diego Union-Tribune