David Benjamin

Bastard's Bluff David Benjamin

Burning crosses on lawns and swastikas on Jewish graves? These are outrages wildly out of place in neighborly Hercules, Wis. But when a rash of hate crimes strikes, villagers turn to ex-police chief Jim Otis for help. Trouble is, after a scandal over a high-school cheerleader, Jim's no longer a cop. The crimes spiral beyond the new police chief's control. Suspicion focuses on Norman Klinghofer, who lives quietly in a historic family compound atop Bastard's Bluff. When Norman is fingered for robbing the town's only bank and shooting an innocent teller, the FBI storms into Hercules. Jim Otis doesn't believe Norman is the raving bigot behind the hateful Badger Bund's website, but he's powerless to intervene until his teenage daughter, Natalie, thrusts herself (without permission) into the siege on Bastard's Bluff. Jim is forced to summon his detective skills and solve the mystery before hardboiled FBI agent Flint Hardesty turns Bastard's Bluff into another Ruby Ridge.