Lee Goldberg’s ‘Calico’ Is My Favorite Novel of The Year

This unique genre-bending story is incredibly entertaining

There’s a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert …

“The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away.”

But it’s the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge . . . and a shot at redemption.

Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance.

His fate, all those years ago, and hers today are linked when Beth investigates an old skeleton dug up in a shallow, sandy grave . . . and also tries to identity a vagrant run-over by a distracted motorhome driver during a lightning storm.

Every disturbing clue she finds, every shocking discovery she makes, force Beth to confront her own troubled past…and a past that’s not her own…until it all smashes together in a revelation that could change the world.

— The official blurb of ‘Calico’ from the book’s publisher, Severn House

I’ve been a fan of author Lee Goldberg for close to 30 years. Between his nonfiction books about television (which all TV lovers should read) and his novels, I’ve read close to 20 of his books.

His latest, CALICO, is probably my favorite of all of them.

Goldberg combines multiple genres in CALICO. It’s partly a mystery, partly a western, and partly science fiction. It has a very unique and clever storyline. Plus, there’s a very nice mixture of drama and action, with some great humor sprinkled in here and there.

I’ve never read anything else quite like it before — and I mean that in the best possible of ways.

CALICO is one of those special kinds of books that is probably most enjoyable for readers if they don’t know too much about the plot before they begin reading it. What is written about it in the above blurb from the publisher is all that readers need to know before reading it. I’m not going to say much more about it, because I don’t want to spoil any of the many great twists and surprises in the storyline.

If you’re looking for a very entertaining read, you can’t go wrong with CALICO. I’m already looking forward to reading it again.

NOTE: I received an advanced reading copy of the novel from the publisher.

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