Full Measure
A Novel
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3.8 • 13 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"A tense and compelling drama of the wars without and the wars within—and of the flame of violence that burns through the American psyche." —T.C. Boyle, New York Times bestselling author of The Women
"Stunning . . . [Parker is] a brave and daring writer." —Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy
"A great American family novel. . . . Parker is playing in the same league as John Steinbeck." —Stephen Harrigan, author of The Gates of the Alamo and Remember Ben Clayton
Patrick Norris has seen the worst that Afghanistan has to offer–excruciating heat, bitter cold, and death waiting behind every rock as comrades are blown to pieces by bombs and snipers. He returns home exhilarated by his new freedom and eager to realize his dream of a sport fishing business. But he is shocked to learn that the avocado ranch his family has owned for generations in the foothills of San Diego has been destroyed by a massive wildfire and the parents he loves are facing ruin.
Ted Norris worships his brother and yearns for his approval. Gentle by nature, but tormented by strange fixations with a dark undercurrent, Ted is drawn into a circle of violent, criminal misfits. His urgent quest to prove himself threatens to put those he loves in peril.
Patrick puts his own plans on hold to save the family's home and falls in love with Iris, a beautiful and unusual woman, when disaster strikes. When Ted's plan for redemption goes terribly wrong, he tries to disappear. Desperate to find his brother and salvage what remains of his family, Patrick must make an agonizing choice.
Three-time Edgar Award-winner T. Jefferson Parker is known for his many bestselling crime novels, from Laguna Heat to The Famous and the Dead. Full Measure marks a departure; it is a literary novel that explores many subjects, among them the bonds of loyalty between brothers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Edgar-winner Parker (Laguna Heat) takes a break from writing bestselling crime novels for this standalone about an Afghanistan veteran who comes home to California and discovers that the town where he grew up is its own kind of war zone. Returning to Fallbrook, Calif., Patrick Norris finds that his family's avocado farm is in danger of going under thanks to recent canyon fire that destroyed 10 acres. This comes at a bad time for Patrick, who is attempting to extricate himself from his family's business and begin his own fly-fishing charter company. Patrick also has to deal with his older brother, Ted, a lifelong screw-up who, after being mugged by a Mexican, buys a glock and flirts with joining a local racist gang, the Rogue Wolves. Add a love interest for Patrick; a Homeland Security agent trying to prove that the fire was a terrorist act started by local Muslims; some Marine buddies having difficulties adjusting to civilian life; a mayor with too much on her plate; and an impending storm, and the stage is set for a chaotic climax. Unfortunately, this novel feels simultaneously underdramatized and overdetermined. Although the characters are well developed, there is a pat quality to the writing that undermines the emotional investment in Patrick's return to civilian life.
Customer Reviews
Full Measure
One of the best books depicting life in America today in a style reminiscent of the great John Steinbeck.