Bohannon’s Women

In the stories that make up Joseph Hansen’s collection, the reader will find a variety of voices, settings, themes and story lines. These stories demonstrate how versatile Hansen has become not only as a storyteller, but as an observer of contemporary Southern California. In Bohannon’s Women, you’ll find powerful tales such as “Storm Damage,” in which Jason Moore’s mother is accused of murder; “Widower’s Walk,” in which a town’s hatred for a returning Vietnam veteran extends to suspecting him of murder; “Confessional,” in which a priest secretly knows that a man accused of murder is innocent; and “Survival,” in which a local man driving a friend’s body back home for burial encounters a group of survivalists. Also in this stunning group of stories are “Home Is the Place,” wherein a young man comes home to die of AIDS; and “Widdershins,” in which a high-school boy kills himself and authorities search for his missing girlfriend. “A high-stakes plot, swift cinematic action and characters with real stuffing in them,” was the Baltimore Sun’s description of a recent Joseph Hansen novel. And you’ll find all these elements here, too, in these stories that deal with the many moral and spiritual dilemmas of modern America. This is Joseph Hansen at his finest. Book jacket.