DANE BAHR was born in Minnesota. He is the author of The Houseboat and the forthcoming novel, Stag. He lives in Washington State with his wife and dog, watching his sons and orchard grow.
A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Book
"Evocative . . . Bahr deftly moves back and forth in time; his
short chapters, which feature the perspectives of different
townspeople, add to the feeling that the enormity of the horror
cannot be fully comprehended. The Houseboat reminded me of works by
Robert Bloch strained through a more literary—but quite welcome
sensibility." —Sarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review
"Bahr writes like a demon, with a range from deadpan humor to
living horror . . . Its haunting sequences may prove impossible to
forget."—Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal
"Lyrical, bleak, gothic, haunting. The reference points to Cormac
McCarthy are clear, even as Bahr develops a voice entirely his own
. . . The Houseboat thrives on the level of language and
atmosphere, resulting in a beautifully written debut by an author
to watch." —Jason Namey, Los Angeles Review of Books
"Dane Bahr’s debut marks a notable new entry into the still nascent
Midwestern Gothic genre, evoking a sense of place as unforgettable
as the cat and mouse relationship between the detective and killer
in this atmospheric novel of hard rain and small towns in mid 20th
century America . . . A stylish noir thriller perfect for fans of
Midwestern crime and the desolate horror of the unexplained and
frequently unsolved." —Doreen Sheridan, Criminal Element
"Bahr’s psychologically charged debut, The Houseboat, represents a
high water mark in rural noir." —Trey Strecker, Mystery Scene
"This riveting narrative is perfectly executed and begs for
comparisons to William Faulkner (for the atmosphere), Cormac
McCarthy (for the graphic descriptions), Eudora Welty (for the
Grimmlike fable trappings), and Edgar Allan Poe (for the sense of
the macabre) . . . Truly eloquent and haunting . . . Likely to be
one of the winter's most talked-about novels." —Booklist (starred
review)
"Bahr’s feel for place and people, such as the creepy Sellers,
creates a moody atmosphere . . . Readers will be curious to see
what this talented author does next." —Publishers Weekly
"An impressive debut . . . A hypnotic blend of noir and goth."
—Kirkus Reviews
"The Houseboat is a new noir classic. I loved it."—Tod Goldberg,
author of The Low Desert
"It’d be easy to mistake Rigby Sellers—the drifter at the center of
Dane Bahr’s The Houseboat— as an invention of Cormac McCarthy or
William Gay, but it’d also be a mistake. Bahr has created a
literary miscreant all his own, and for all the fright Rigby
conjures—and there’s plenty of it—he’s as much a foil for the
supposedly civilized small Iowa town he haunts as he is a spectacle
unto himself. This book is as eerie and dark as a Mississippi river
slough, and just as rank. You don’t want to miss it." —Peter Geye,
author of Northernmost
“The Houseboat will unsettle you, scare you, and break your heart.
It’s grimly authentic, bleak and beautiful. Its people wear the
faces we see in our mirrors, and the ones we glimpse in our most
terrifying dreams. It's a distinctly American gothic
mystery—perfect reading for the Lovecraftian times we are living
in.” —Molly Gloss, author of The Jump-Off Creek and The Hearts of
Horses
"Dane Bahr has written a classic mystery that propels his readers
through the avenues, back roads, and waterways of a small town on a
dire mission to sort through gossip and find the truth. Yet along
the way, he also creeps us out, pushes our buttons, challenges our
moral limits, and subverts our expectations in all the best ways,
right up to the very last page. A subtle and smartly paced
psychological page-turner with characters you love for their
flaws." —Sarah Gerard, author of Binary Star
"With scenes as propulsive as any found in True Detective and
dialogue that could hold its own against the novels of Cormac
McCarthy or Donald Ray Pollock, Dane Bahr's debut, The Houseboat,
is truly a thing of beauty! Enticing the reader from the go, with a
clear, clever, and ultimately haunting writing style, Bahr delivers
on every page.” —Urban Waite, author of Sometimes the Wolf
“Dane Bahr has an unteachable knack to make the natural world a
character. And once the book's ecosystems spring to vibrant life,
there is a hell of a page-turner floating on top." —Joshua Mohr,
author of Model Citizen
"The Houseboat is an unruly, scarred and dusk-haunted book. In
Bahr's stunning, transcendent descent into the old guilt of our
collective humanity, something utterly unique awakens." —Shann Ray,
author of Atomic Theory 7
“The Houseboat is as taut and chilling as it is vivid and
self-assured. Bahr delivers a gritty, page-turning debut not to be
missed." —Jonathan Evison, author of Legends of the North
Cascades
“The Houseboat is a little bit Eudora Welty, a splash of Edgar
Allen Poe, and a whole lot of originality. Dane Bahr levels a
landscapist’s eye on 1960 Iowa and a gothic one on the human
currents circulating in its cornfields, woods, and waterways. It’s
a wonderful juxtaposition of the bucolic and the horrifying.” —Glen
Chamberlin, author of Conjugations of the Verb to Be
“The Houseboat is a worthy addition to the canon of country noir.
Bahr's novel is eerie, dark, and disturbing in the best possible
way.” —Ivy Pochoda, author of These Women
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