Title: Bones of Dead Man's Bluff by Robb Grindstaff

Reviewer: Laura Anne Bird

Genre: Fiction/Political Intrigue

Length: 240 Pages

Date published: August 2024

Publisher: Evolved Publishing

Set against a backdrop of social unease and a looming presidential election, Robb Grindstaff’s Bones of Dead Man's Bluff feels unnervingly familiar.

Worth Sullivan is a Missouri-based reverend nicknamed “America’s Pastor” by The Washington Post. His old high school friend, Senator Kirk Madison, has just announced his candidacy for president. Why is Worth dead set against Kirk’s plan? Turns out when you’ve known each other for as long as Worth and Kirk have, there might be a skeleton or two buried deep in the closet.

Grindstaff weaves a riveting and fast-paced story that will strike readers as fresh and (gulp) prescient—much as I hope his concept of a “national divorce” remains purely fictional.

Worth is both flawed and relatable as Grindstaff’s protagonist, and his growing sense of discomfort serves as the beating heart of the novel. He sweats, struggles, and attempts to pray his way through bad memories and feverish dreams, all without losing his grip on his moral compass. Easier said than done.

Kirk, meanwhile, is Worth’s perfect foil. Complex and headstrong, he is easy to dislike—at least at first blush. Can he redeem himself? Does he want to? No spoilers here, but I will happily divulge that that the ending of Bones of Dead Man's Bluff astonished me. (Bravo, Kirk. Bravo!)

Grindstaff’s political-intrigue-meets-magical-realism is an odd sort of hybrid, but it works. Like the mysterious leaves and twigs Worth finds at the foot of his bed upon awakening, Bones of Dead Man's Bluff is eerie and unsettling, messing with readers’ heads in the best way.

Buckle up for a wild ride through the Ozarks.

Reviewer Laura Anne Bird, a Milwaukee native, graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in English. She lives in Madison with her husband, three big kids, and little dog. When she’s not reading, writing, or reviewing books, she loves to exercise and explore the outdoors.

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