Winter Range - Hardcover

Which is too bad, because Davis is capable of very nice sentences. About a spring dawn: "Everything about this morning said soon." And Ike is a genuinely appealing character: his position as an outsider subverts a lot of sheriff mythology. As his wife, Pattiann, muses, "He was too human for his job. But of course, that's what made him right for it." If only Davis would trust her readers to believe it, rather than trotting out Ike's family tree to convince us. --Claire Dederer

"The beauty of Davis's language reawakens us to the magical possibilities contained in the simplest of words." (Kim Barnes, author of Hungry for the World: A Memoir)

"This original novel introduces Gothic to the high plains of the modern west. Claire Davis is a fine writer and Winter Range will keep you glued to the edge of your seat." (James Welch, author of The Heartsong of Charging Elk)

"In vibrant language, Davis offers a darker vision of modern cattle ranching, where lost opportunities, isolation, greed, and self-pity can too easily degenerate into self-justifying irresponsibility and violence. An interesting examination of the complexities of our relationship to those upon whom we depend most for our survival." (Laura Hendrie, author of Remember Me)

"Winter Range is absolutely engrossing, a vivid thriller and a look into the degree of absorbed selfishness which results in merciless conduct. I stayed up all night with this one." (William Kittredge, author of Hole in the Sky)

"Winter Range moves with an elemental force....Her writing has tensile strength, a quirky grace, a wise humor. Claire Davis is an important new voice in the literature of the American West." (David Long, author of The Daughters of Simon Lamoreaux)