Bigfoot Hunters Never Lie by Kate E. Thompson
“We have an oath.” She pulls me into a tight hug and for the first time in hours, I feel like I’m going to be okay.”
“Bigfoot Hunters forever,” I say the same time she does.
This is a clip of dialogue from my friend, Seattle author, Kate E. Thompson’s book, Bigfoot Hunters Never Lie. It’s between the protagonist, Noah, and his childhood best friend, Charlee, who comes to his aid during his time of need, and together they set out to put his life back in order.
During their youth they’d made a pack–The Bigfoot Code. And when Noah finds himself in the middle of tough year, a mid-life crisis of sorts, being pulled in one direction by family and community expectations vs. what he wants, The Bigfoot Code formed in childhood essentially becomes his guiding force.
This thread, this theme of friendship, is what endeared me to this book.
Do you have someone in your life, who you are 100% confident will answer your call if you ring them at 2:00 am?
This is the relationship between Noah and Charlee, and is an area where Kate really shines: the friendship between these two is so convincing and refreshing.
We need people like this; people who have our best interest at heart, who are there when we need them, no matter what; people who will drive to the ends of the world to be with us.
But it’s also a story about forgiving and forgetting, a spiritual awakening, and the meaning of family.
A quick synopsis:
Noah Cathcart is Associate Pastor of his father’s church and is married to Grace “the pinup Girl of Pastors’ wives” (love this description, Kate). Everything is going to plan. They have an eight-year-old son, a chihuaha with three legs, and a mortgage.
Until…one morning Noah is awakened by his estranged brother, Anthony, who asks if he will help a friend, “Secret Agent” Mel, move into a shelter before he gets arrested.
Noah agrees, goes to the camp, and in the chaos of the bust, finds himself arrested. However, later, he discovers he can’t get his mind off some of the characters he met at the camp, not only Secret Agent Mel, but also the accordion player he met in the police van, and the little girl wandering through the homeless camp in her panda bear slippers.
In addition, things are not going well for Noah at church, or at home. So when Anthony asks for another favor, this one could seriously endanger Noah’s career, as well as his relationship with his father.
The novel asks the question: Will it take a tragic event to give Noah the courage to risk his plan and find out who he is, what he wants in life, and what it takes to be a father, a husband, a brother, a son, and a pastor?
But be warned. This book is a page turner. Kate’s effortless writing flows and draws you into the story; you’re going to want to keep the pages turning so you can find out what’s going to happen next.
Finally, Kate really excels at creating powerful characters. They are flawed, flawed, flawed, often acting horribly. Furthermore, she is an emotive writer, exploring, through her characters, the full range of human emotions.
Click on the link and buy this book. You’ll love it! Also, you may wish to visit her website: www.kateethompson.com where you can read more about her upcoming second novel: A Family of Forgetters, which is a story about Annie, a Danish Immigrant, and is set in Salt Lake City during the 19th century. It’s a story of courage, loss, family bonds, and growing up in a country that doesn’t feel like home.
