The Red Tassel -- David Dodge

I grew up in a house in which there were very few books. My parents introduced me to the library early, however, so that made up for a lot. Later on, I started accumulating books of my own, but my parents were never very interested. For some reason, one of the few books on our single bookshelf was David Dodge's The Red Tassel, the hardcover first. I have no idea why it was there, and I never asked. I did, however, read it. That copy has long since disappeared, but when we got back from Peru, I wanted to read it again. So I picked up this copy on eBay. The setting is Boliva, not Peru, but the scenery, the references to altitude sickness, and the alpacas were all familiar to me from my trip. Dodge is another of those underrated, nearly forgotten, writers who deserves a better fate. His writing is clean, and his observations are sharp. His descriptions are right on the money. And his plotting is something we could all learn from. I'm looking forward to the Hard Case Crime reprint of Plunder of the Sun, which should be coming along Real Soon Now and should go a long way to improving Dodge's visibility. I believe that one is set in Peru, at least partially. Should be a real treat.