Big Wheat

October 4, 2010
The advent of the threshing machine, which changed farming by making it easier and more profitable to harvest wheat, provides the backdrop for Thompson's accomplished stand-alone, set in 1919 on the Great Plains. As bands of workers and machines roam from farm to farm, bringing in the crops and ushering in the era of Big Wheat, Charlie Krueger finds his real home and an affinity for fixing machinery when he joins such a group. Having left his family farm and abusive father, Charlie is unaware that back home he's accused of killing the girlfriend who jilted him and that he's stalked by her murderer, a serial killer who's been following crop workers for years. Thompson (Frag Box) mixes elements of the western with a well-devised mystery plot for an evocative look at the hardships of farming, the intersection of progress with old-fashioned ways, and the loneliness of the Great Plains.

Thompson has a real feel for the landscape and weather of the prairie, as well as the post-WWI timeframe of this mystery. Kevin Kenerly's easy-listening narration style fits the story's leisurely pace. After Charlie Krueger's girlfriend, Mabel, breaks up with him, he sets off from his North Dakota home, following the wheat harvest, but not before seeing something strange taking place in a field on a dark night. Shortly after, Mabel's body is discovered in that field, and the law is after Charlie. The real killer, a serial murderer who calls himself Windmill Man, is also after him, determined to silence his only witness. Kenerly excels at defining the characters. George Ravenwing, a Lakota; Jim Avery, the leader of the threshing operation; Charlie's new love, Emily, a feisty Brit; and Charlie himself all have distinct verbal mannerisms, which include varied accents, inflections, and speaking pace. C.A. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine