The Big Both Ways
by John Straley

Summary

Slip Wilson is just trying to find work, food and a little justice when he hooks up with a bottle-blonde, Ellie Hobbes, who drags him into her edgy, ragtag life. At the last minute, Ellie, a notorious "red" union organizer who faces mounting problems with antiunion forces, and her young niece hop aboard the same rickety boat Slip is escaping on that's traveling from Seattle to Juneau. The odd trio barely catches a breath as weather, hunger, a Seattle homicide detective and a revenge-seeking gang of thugs hound them all the way up the Inside Passage. Ellie isn't big on explanations, so Slip isn't sure until nearly the end of their journey if she's a heroine or a scoundrel.

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Praise

"It's a thrilling journey. Straley's descriptions of the Pacific Northwest's wilderness circa 1935, and of the amazingly tough people who lived there, are sure-footed and deeply evocative. His depiction of the odd relationship between Slip and Ellie is equally skilled, and it keeps us nicely off-balance." — Seattle Times

"Straley's beautifully understated narrative, vivid sense of place and unapologetic, unadorned characters make this a riveting, unpredictable ride." — Publisher's Weekly

". . . a rich tale . . . part mystery and part action-adventure . . . Straley hits all the right notes here: vividly detailed scenes . . . as well as almost Dickension vignettes of the working conditions in the canneries and on the waterfronts of the Northwest, meld perfectly with a Jack London-like, man-versus-nature story. If you want to read one novel about the Northwest at a crucial time in its history, read this one"
— Booklist

Buy Signed Copy - $16.95 | John Straley Web Site