Don't Think Twice

By Wayne Johnson

Book Overview

Deep in the magnificent landscape of northwest Minnesota, near the Chippewa reservation where he grew up, Paul Two Persons owns a resort lodge on fourteen thousand acres of pristine forests and lakes. Haunted by the death of his young son and his disintegrating relationship with his beautiful wife, Paul is on the verge of losing the land he loves due to an unpaid loan to his childhood friend Al. ???????? When he is called on to identify Al's body at the morgue, he knows his troubles have just begun. Not only are shady developers eyeing his property with escalating delight, but his best friend is putting moves on his mourning wife, and he's getting the dizzying sense that these occurrences are related to his son's death and Al's "suicide." ???????? It's not just the fire that damages half the lodge or the potshots that somebody takes at him on a dark night; it's the left boot missing from Al's body and the Chippewa burial markings misplaced on his dead friend's flesh. These oddities lead Paul into a staggering game of deceit and murder even as his family and friends go to great lengths to save him. ???????? Wayne Johnson has crafted a complex novel propelled by the mysterious circumstances of a man's downfall and the pride and misfortunes of his people. This riveting literary thriller captures the soul of a people and the beauty of their land, while calculating the price of true friendship and the enduring power of love.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609604600
• ISBN13: 9780609604601
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Harmony
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Don't Think Twice

It's 12:12 a.m. and I just had to stay up and finish this book tonight. Like the main character, I was often unsure what was going on exactly, and couldn't tell the good guys from the bad, and as that is often the case in real life, I totally identified with him even though I am a woman.I loved the lyrical quality of the writing, stopping often to reread sentences and entire passages, admiring how sharply Wayne Johnson captured a scene in a few phrases or sentences.The writing style and the story are perfectly matched. The characters could be someone you know.I loved it.

Don't Think Twice

First book I've ever read that I could not guess what was going to happen next. Written from the viewpoint of a Native American fighting to keep from losing the most important things in his life-his marriage and his land. A lone man fighting greedy businessmen and his own people, who view him as a traitor, to save his resort and his marriage. Not knowing if he can even trust his best friend, he sets on a path to save what he loves most and risks it all in doing so. I loved it, my mother loved it and by brother is reading it now. I was fortunate enough to have met the author's wife in a small book store and was able to get the book autographed. She also told me it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Here's hoping the book gets the attention it so greatly deserves. Anxiously awaiting the sequel due out in June, "Six Crooked Highways."

Intriguing, engrossing

I read the entire book last Sunday. Curiously woven together,and in a unique, man's way of thinking. My wife read it and alsothought it was well-written. She couldn't put it down either! Mystery not just for mystery's sake...an interesting, environmental-conscience-real-people-story. ..believable. Something you'll enjoy talking with friends about

Great characters, compelling suspense, brilliant ecofiction.

This grittily realistic novel features suburb character development, great storytelling, and an incredible evocation of place. Johnson parcels out clues and new information in a way that slowly sheds light on both a previous crime and a complex current situation. Johnson provides implicit commentary on land development scams, Indian-racketeer colusion, loyalty and friendship between the lines. It's also a first rate, non-sentimental love story. Fans of David Guterson and Cormac McCarthy will join those of Louise Erdrich and Louis Owens in their appreciation of this excellent novel.

Can't get it out of my head.

Wow. An incredible read with a social conscience. This reminded me in this way of the best of Barbara Kingsolver. Except that there's suspense here, a real mystery--the death of a small boy and a best friend deep in the Minnesota woods. A gorgeous setting--an old resort on a beautiful but sometimes ominous lake. And a real, complicated. and deeply loving relationship between a Native American and a white midwestern woman. There is very good writing here. I wish this one were getting the attention it deserves.