Known Dead

Written by Donald Harstad

Narrated by Ron McLarty

Donald Harstad, a 26-year police veteran, has firsthand knowledge of small town police departments. This background enables him to create the authentic details, realistic dialogue, and suspenseful twists in Known Dead. Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman is dozing in his cruiser near parklands in Nation County, Iowa when he hears popping sounds. Immediately, his radio screams to life with a call for assistance. What started as a simple raid on a marijuana patch has erupted into high-power gunfire. As the air clears, two men are known dead. But who was firing, and what else are they protecting? Houseman will find few heroes as he follows a convoluted trail that leads from the marijuana plants to an elusive international operator. By the time the case is closed, "known dead" has taken on a new meaning for him. Ron McLarty's dramatic narration highlights Houseman's increasingly ironic attitude toward life and his profession.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 30, 2010
• ISBN: 9781436170796

Donald Harstad

Donald Harstad is a twenty-six-year veteran of the Clayton County Sheriff’s Department in north-eastern Iowa. A former deputy sheriff, Harstad lives with his wife Mary, in Elkader, Iowa. Don is the author of three bestselling crime novels, ‘Eleven Days’, ‘The Known Dead’ and ‘The Big Thaw’. He recently signed a 5 book deal with Warner Bros. Films.

Reviews for Known Dead

[cherilove · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A little unrealistic, but hugely appealing from the standpoint of portraying a mid-country sheriff, and the detailed shoot-out scenes.

[mojomomma_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Read this while sick, so had trouble following the plot. Of the four Harstad books I've read, I liked this one the least.

[lewilliams-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very good police procedural set in Iowa. The story takes you on a roller coaster ride that did not disapoint.

[ecw0647 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Recipe for a great story:

Donald Harstad mixes the following ingredients:

1. Carl Houseman, a Nation County, Iowa, deputy sheriff and chief homicide investigator.

2. Some guys dressed like Navy Seals who kill a cop, a bad guy, and a state narcotics agent in the woods near a marijuana patch.

3. A local farmer who has mortgaged his farms and those of his children to a company that insists gold is the only "real" currency and investing in their stash in South America bring great riches when the U.S. collapses and the Belgian troops (All 10 of them? asks Houseman) of the U.N. take over zone 5. And by the way, these guys will happily take your personal check for the phantom gold.

4. A shoot-out at the farmer's place which kills a local reporter who had been asked to come in and hear the plight of the insurgents.

5. Hester, a nifty Iowa Bureau of Investigation agent.

6. Carl's self-depracating humor.

7. A substantial dose of realism.

8. Jurisdictional gerrymandering.

9. A shipment of stolen RPG's. (The scene where one idiot tries to take out a jail wall by shooting the thing off in his car is pretty funny.)

The result is another really good county police procedural. Harstad makes several very important observations about the luncacy of the far right extremeists. I suspect he speaks from experience, having been an Iowa deputy sheriff for many years. This is the second in the series. As usual I read a couple out of order. I recommend reading this title before The Big Thaw.

Well read by Ron McClarty

[mikedraper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman is part of a team conducting surveillance on a marajuana patch at a state park.It should have been routine but something goes terribly wrong. Officer Bill Kellerman of the narcotics division and a doper are killed. At first it was thought that they killed each other but when this was not the case, Houseman was assigned to a task force to find the killers.Investigators interview farmers in the area of the crime scene and serve papers on a farmer named Stritch who heads a militia group. He has land posted saying he would shoot uninvited officers. He is heavily in debt and thinks the police are coming to evict him.Many plot twists tied nicely together by Harstad. This is a fun read.