The Face of His Brother by Mark St.J.Couhig
The Face of His Brother by Mark St.J.Couhig
It is late in the afternoon of Friday, August 27, 1967.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, 22-year-old
Ricardo Garcia has just made a terrible mistake.
Garcia was warned of the consequences that awaited, but in a
moment of anger he purchased with his pistol the eternal enmity of the Brandon family
of Clinton, Louisiana. Though his home is more than one thousand miles
removed from Clinton, the distance will provide Garcia with
no comfort and no safety.
To the Brandons of East Feliciana Parish, family is everything. Three
generations soon find themselves in hot pursuit of Garcia.
Only one man, a disgraced Clinton cop, stands in the way of their plans.
The Face of his Brother is more than a simple story of revenge. The
hunt for Garcia brings to the surface the violence, betrayals and tragedies that
have torn the Brandon family apart. At its heart, this is the story of
an old Louisiana family and of the secrets and
scandals that roil beneath the surface.
Reviews of The Face of His Brother:
Louisiana and New Mexico are captured beautifully on these pages and the characters are instantly familiar By Lucie on June 25, 2015
When I finished The Face of His Brother, I immediately turned back to the beginning and started to read it again. That was a couple of weeks ago, and I continue to pick it up and re-read parts of this compelling story. "Thought provoking" barely begins to describe it, yet there are parts where I laughed out loud. Louisiana and New Mexico are captured beautifully on these pages and the characters are instantly familiar. Don't even think about picking up this wonderful book unless you are willing to enter into a personal relationship with it, one that will take you to unexpected places, at times uncomfortable,yet always drawing you in to discover more about justice, and family, than you could have imagined.
By Glenna Fallin on June 2, 2015
Although the locale for the story is in New Mexico and Louisiana, the tale of sibling rivalry, greed, laziness, and racism needs no geographical boundary. The author, however, is able to so deftly describe the two locations, those from the areas will want to read it for the descriptive prose alone. Not to say that the story, full of twists and turns, is always serious as I found myself laughing out loud throughout my reading because the character depictions are so accurate for people I actually know. The setting is in the 1960's, but could easily be viewed as contemporary in light of recent protests. This is the author's first novel, but I hope it is not his last because it was enjoyable and I highly recommend it.
By Robert B. Scholes on July 2, 2015
From the first page through to the last, I was hooked on this book. The author must have done extensive research on the culture of both South Louisiana and New Mexico in the late '60s. I was quickly drawn into those locales, and found I really cared what happened to both the perpetrator and the victim's family. This book has a lot of suspense, is fast-paced, and has that ring of authenticity about how families deal with the murder of a family member. But it's not just any murder. And, clearly this is NOT just any family. A fine first book, and I'm looking forward to his next one. Strong five stars.
By Cathy on May 31, 2015
I loved this. At first it seems like a fairly straight-forward murder mystery but it has plot twists that are brilliant. Throw in two very different landscapes and cultures and you have a story that will keep you engrossed. It's well-written, unique and rewarding.