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An Old Chaos: A Latouche County Mystery    by Sheila Simonson Amazon.com order for
Old Chaos
by Sheila Simonson
Order:  USA  Can
Perseverance Press, 2009 (2009)
Paperback
* *   Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth

A landslide kills six people – a landslide that was bound to happen and that authorities were warned about. However, the information was buried in paperwork and houses were built just under the impending disaster. Who was responsible for ignoring what geologists had predicted? Who was responsible for the deaths and the ruined houses in the path of that mudslide?

Such is the thrust of Sheila Simonson's second book in the Latouche County series, An Old Chaos. Why was the information suppressed that could have prevented this heartache? It's beginning to look like there were payoffs to county government with all the corruption necessary to line pockets.

The background for this fast-paced novel is the Columbia River and its mixed cultures. Native Americans and their casinos come into the picture, as well as county personnel, and local development bigwigs as the tragedy is investigated. Madeline Thomas, principal chief of the Klalos and geologist Charlie O'Neill know there is a back story to the land that never should have been built on.

The plot of this well-written book kept this reader alert. The characters fit into the story well and made for a good read.

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