A book cover with trees and the words " the great leader."

The Great Leader, Jim Harrison, 2011

A bawdy, sprawling tale of Sunderson, a 66-year-old newly retired Michigan State Police detective who refuses to drop his last investigation into a cult leader preying on under-aged girls. His drinking, divorce, and  peeping plus his history reading make him an interesting character. The ending fizzles a bit, but the Upper Peninsula and Arizona scenery and characters combine for vintage Harrison. Money, sex and religion—a heady brew. Some great phrases—“The aging process was linear with the inevitability of gravity,” “I am a very short man in tall grass,” “When he walked his level of attention was spread thinly but intensely over the entire landscape.”