Overview

A page-turning epic about the making of a borderland crime family, Country of the Bad Wolfes will appeal both to aficionados of family sagas and to fans of hard-knuckled crime novels by the likes of Donald Pollock, Elmore Leonard, James Lee Burke and James Ellroy. Basing the novel partly on his own ancestors, Blake presents the story of the Wolfe family - spanning three generations, centring on two sets of identical twins and the women they love, and ranging from New England to the heart of Mexico before arriving at its powerful climax at the Rio Grande. Begat by an Irish-English pirate in New Hampshire in 1828, the Wolfe family follows its manifest destiny into war-torn Mexico. There, through the connection of a mysterious American named Edward Little, their fortunes intertwine with those of Porfirio Daz, who will rule the country for more than thirty years before his overthrow by the Revolution of 1910. In the course of those tumultuous chapters in American and Mexican history, as Daz grows in power, the Wolfes grow rich and forge a violent history of their own, spawning a fearsome legacy that will pursue them to a climactic reckoning at the Ro Grande.

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9781843445555

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James Carlos Blake is an American prose-hero, and writers of the western inclination have been stealing him blind for years. Get this book. You won't be sorry. -- Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Hummingbird's Daughter, Queen of America and Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush Blake's boisterous tenth novel unspools an epic filial tale, detailing the confluence of Mexico's ill-starred destiny with the fate of an Irish-British-American family so thoroughly accursed that it seems almost inevitable that the clan should become Mexican ... A multigenerational saga [with] wonderfully drawn characters ... A natural yarn-spinner ... Blake excels in gorily choreographed fight scenes [and] while [he] keeps you immersed in his wildly picaresque tale, he slowly reels in the novel's dark take-home: it doesn't matter if your distant ancestry is pre-Columbian or Hibernian, Aztec or Iberian. Sooner or later, it'll catch up with you. -- John Phillip Santos, Texas Monthly A great read from start to finish, full of grit, local color, and a large cast of vibrant characters ... this brawling, high-spirited, and superbly realized family saga ... offers many pleasures, including endearing characters, unlikely love stories, and all manner of mayhem. Highly recommended for fans of literary fiction. -- Library Journal A rollicking tale ... that acquires depth as it moves across generations and national boundaries ... Blake doesn't mind a boudoir but his real strengths come in describing manly mayhem, which he portrays with uncommon poetry ... [With] Cormac McCarthy's tutelary spirit [and] soupcons of Garcia Marquez ... the book keeps good company ... full of wry humor and thoughtful writing. -- Kirkus Reviews Murder, politics, and illegitimate children fuel this engrossing and wonderfully realized saga. -- Publishers Weekly This is historical fiction in the manner of Umberto Eco ... many-faceted, slow, and savory. -- Booklist Over the years, Blak James Carlos Blake is an American prose-hero, and writers of the western inclination have been stealing him blind for years. Get this book. You won't be sorry. --Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Hummingbird's Daughter , Queen of America and Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush Brawling, high-spirited, and superbly realized ... this novel offers many pleasures, including endearing characters, unlikely love stories, and all manner of mayhem. -- Library Journal Blake has a sure-handed grasp of 19th-century western US history and culture that is every bit as engaging and authentic as say, Cormac McCarthy and Guy Vanderhaeghe and Jim Harrison .... a skillful and astute narrative ... an enthralling tale. -- Robert Birnbaum With generous dollops of good old-fashioned melodrama and juicy tidbits of Mexican political history, Blake's story will entertain fans of historical and adventure novels alike. -- Shelf Awareness An epic filial tale ... wonderfully drawn characters. [Blake] 's a natural yarn spinner. -- Texas Monthly This is historical fiction in the manner of Umberto Eco ... many-faceted, slow, and savory. -- Booklist

Author Information

James Carlos Blake is one of America's most highly regarded living authors of historical crime fiction. He was born in Mexico to a family that moved regularly when he was a child, living in various towns along the border and coast before finally settling in Texas. After a stint in the army, Blake attended the University of South Florida and received a Master's degree from Bowling Green State University, both universities where he would later teach. In 1997 he left teaching to write full-time. Blake has written thirteen other novels and one collection of stories, most of which dealt with real-life characters from the American west. He lives and works in Arizona.

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