Sometimes I speed read through the last quarter of a novel to get it over with, and onto the next one. Rarely do I slow down because I enjoy it so much that I do not want it to conclude. Calico by Lee Goldberg was one of those rare treats. The book kept delivering, and how I savored.
The author surprised me with this one. I always enjoy his work, which are usually police procedural/private eye/master thief stories, but this one has a more supernatural element. Handled by a less experienced author Calico might not have worked, but in Goldberg’s talented hands he creates an enjoyable, even plausible plot.
Beth is a Barstow California Sherrif’s homicide detective. Once in the more promising location of Los Angeles, she is now in this comparative armpit of the world, due to poor judgement and decision making of former superiors. The story opens up with her investigating the death of an apparent homeless person who ran in front of a moving motor home.
Soon there are other events, the sudden disappearance of a man who was last seen driving through the area on the same night, one in which there were strange lighting strike explosions from a nearby military base.
As the detective story evolves with stranger clues that are developed over the case, the reader is provided another storyline taking place in the same area in 1882 when nearby Calico was a struggling to exist mining town. Alternating between the modern day investigation and western story is satisfyingly woven by Lee Goldberg. Frankly, I do not usually care for mixed genres in the books I read, but soon the author provided threads connecting the two timelines and I became hooked on each.
As I wrote, this novel quickly became a page turner until I did not want it to end. Lee Goldberg’s prowess as an author truly shines in Calico, and I heartily recommend this fabulous novel.

I am a big fan of Lee Goldberg from his Eve Ronin series and hes on my list of authors to read automatically when a new book comes out. I was excited to get approved for an ARC of Calico and I thought I was going to read another great police procedural. Boy was I wrong!

In Calico, Golberg delvers the genre mashup you never knew you wanted. It starts as a police procedural with an unexplainable accidental death and then jumps into time travel and government conspiracies in a very good way. I loved the parallel stories and how they came together in the end. The details of what it would be like to be dropped from modern day into the wild west were very well done (hint: sewage treatment and personal hygiene are severely lacking and only certain skill sets are transferrable).

The pacing was great throughout and kept me up reading late for 2 days straight. Highly recommended if you like police procedurals and/or scifi and want a great mashup story.

What can I say about this book and Lee Goldberg that hasn't already been said by much more authoritative and influential people than me? What more can I add besides, "Ditto!"?

Calico is a bit of a departure from Goldberg's usual fare, but not by much. If you consider Goldberg's usual fare to be tightly constructed plots with incredible characters and impeccable research, then Calico is exactly in line with everything else he's written.

I'm not usually one for anything supernatural. And I'm generally not a fan of westerns or historical fiction in general. But I love a good mystery and I love Lee Goldberg. This book is all of the above, and I loved it. Couldn't stop reading, couldn't put it down, got grumpy at anyone who interrupted me LOVED it. The only times I did stop were to google facts about Calico Ghost Town in attempts to find the line between fact and fiction (for my own curiosity's sake). That's how blurred the lines were at times, and THAT is the mark of excellent research and storytelling.

You can read the plot summary elsewhere. You can read reviews from super stars elsewhere. The only thing I need to say is READ THE BOOK. You won't regret it.

Calico by Lee Goldberg – 5 Stars
Publisher: Severn House
ISBN: 9781448310135

Calico is a magical unique mix of past and present. It is a current day mystery combined with an old western adventure. Movement between past and present flows smoothly making time travel almost believable. There are interesting characters, history, romance, humor, science and surprises flawlessly woven together into an entertaining story.
I have been a fan of Lee Goldberg’s books for some time. This is my favorite.

Reviewer: Nancy

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for the copy of Calico by Lee Goldberg. This is the most imaginative and intricate book I have read in a long time! It’s best to go in not knowing too much and just letting the story unfold. I loved the ethical and moral dilemmas the characters faced. Beth was a great character, flawed and real. It goes without saying that the writing was great and engaging. If you want an intriguing read, don’t miss this one! 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I've always liked most of Lee Goldberg's stuff, but I thought with the Eve Ronin series he really came into his own. The California cop novel is a peculiarly American art form, and a lot of well-known writers have practiced the form in ways that ranged from competent to brilliant. The Eve Ronin series propelled Lee Goldberg to the top of the heap. If it didn't make him the greatest practitioner of the California cop novel ever, then it absolutely established him as one of two or three greatest I ever read.

So when I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of CALICO, I couldn't wait to dive in. A new California cop novel from Lee Goldberg? Bring it on!

Then I started reading it, and about a third of the way in I screamed, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?

This is like no California cop novel ever written. I'm convinced Goldberg dreamed it up while suffering through the delirium from a bad bout of malaria. Or maybe he woke up in a Tijuana cat house with a three-day growth of beard, a dozen empty tequila bottles, and no memory of anything but the novel he had plotted out in his head.

However it was that CALICO happened, thank God it did. It's an absolutely jaw-dropping genre mashup that no one who reads it will ever forget. I only hope Goldberg has enough left in the tank after launching this sneak attack on all that is holy in crime fiction not to be forced to give up writing and retire now.

Come on, Lee. I'm already jonesing for the next one. But this time... uh, maybe go a little easier on the tequila, huh?

I love Lee Goldberg’s atmospheric descriptions of wherever he sets his stories, but I am going to challenge him on his description of Peggy Sue’s Diner in middle of nowhere Yermo, California as “cheesy”! No! It’s enormously amusing, including the dinosaurs. And what about the huge ice cream sundae shaped Eddie World building? The book is called “Calico” which is a real dusty ghost town north of Barstow, a town where I-15 intersects with the end of I-40. 40 takes you through old west Route 66 territory like Kingman, Winslow, Flagstaff, while 15 delivers you to Las Vegas or Los Angeles. The area is a bit of a historic triangle. The Barstow based characters like Deputy Sheriff Beth McDade seem like they would prefer to be anywhere else, especially not in a section known as “weird California.”

There are two storylines:
The first tale is Deputy Beth’s investigation into two dead men: One unidentified man ran into the path of a recreational van and his clothes (and body clues) are straight out of the old west; and the other is a body with 100 year old bones discovered in an unearthed 1900s grave but the skeleton has 21st century titanium plates and dental implants. That forensic discovery quickly reveals that the coffin body seems to belong to Owen Slader, who went missing while driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles the same night the other man died. As Beth surmises “Motor Home Man seems to have stepped out of the 1800s and while Slader stepped into the past.” As she investigates, there’s an apparent unfriendly effort to stymie her at every turn, and she gets “X-Files” vibes all the way.

The second story follows what really happened to Owen Slader, which turns into an engrossing story about the California silver rush and booming/receding western economies and…the prime directive. I’m not going to spoil the story, but trust me, it’s an amazingly entangled story in two different centuries that comes with enough twists to keep you turning pages as fast as possible.

One of the reasons I love Goldberg is his ability to get me invested in his main characters — decent people who have flaws, but who you reliably trust. Added bonus: some very funny unexpected touches — Owen’s assumed name and the name of his restaurant. You’ll have to read this to find out.

Thank you to Severn House/Canongate and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Only a couple blue eye color references.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Goldberg does a great job describing the geography and landscape of the area (I can attest to this, thanks whiling time away at the Eddie World Tesla chargers.

Mystery, science fiction and an old time western blend with a police procedural in Calico, a sure fire bestseller by the talented Lee Goldberg. Banished to the Barstow desert after a career flameout in Los Angeles, detective Beth McDade is puzzled. A terrified homeless man has run into the path of an RV and been killed. The only clues to his identity are clothes made in the 1800s. An extinct grizzly bear has attacked a camper. A freak lightening storm has caused a multi-car accident after a dislodged boulder dropped to the highway. Organized home invaders are robbing vacant vacation homes. And how would a century old corpse have dental implants? And in the boom town of Calico, during a silver mining craze, Ben Cartwright begins a career as a saloon chef.

Compelling, unputdownable, spellbinding and riveting describe this powerful tour-de-force by award winning author Goldberg. It’s a totally unique idea. Thank you, Lee Goldberg. I would read appliance manuals if you wrote them. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Severn House and Lee Goldberg for this ARC.