Ordinary Bear

A Novel

De: C. B. Bernard

Narrado por: Phil Thron

Dark and humorous, literary but with the heart of a detective novel, Ordinary Bear weighs the burden of grief while exploring our boundless capacity for humanity, kindness, and hope.

Farley stands out among his Iñupiat neighbors in the Alaska village he calls home, both white and enormous, like the hungry polar bears that wander its streets. Jovial and a little hapless, he works as an investigator for a North Slope oil company, passing the long Arctic winters drinking whiskey with the village’s preacher and playing in the weekly poker game hosted by its matriarch and mayor.

When his young daughter visits from thousands of miles away in Portland—where she lives with her mother, who despises him—a shocking moment of violence leaves her dead and Farley injured. Crippled by his wounds and hamstrung with guilt over his inability to save her, he goes home to Oregon to try to make amends.

There he strikes up an unlikely friendship with a single mother and her daughter. With their help, he begins the slow process of healing—until the girl goes missing. Faced with the opportunity to do what he couldn’t do for his own daughter, Farley sets out on a brutal odyssey through Portland’s quirky and dangerous underworld, using his wits and his fists to try to save her life along with the shattered remains of his own.

©2024 Chris Bernard (P)2024 Blackstone Publishing

Very good read/listen!

I had never heard of this author before and saw someone share a link - thought I’d give it a try because Phil Thron is an amazing narrator.

I am very happy to have this as part of my library. The author has a very solid style that combines seriousness with humor that I very much enjoyed. The story itself was something I didn’t expect - combining, in my mind at least, a tale reminiscent of “Man on Fire”, “Jack Reacher”, and Tom Clancy’s “Without Remorse.”

Do yourself a favor and download this to your library. Phil Thron delivers an amazing performance as always and that drives home this author’s excellent writing style.

5 out of 5 across the board.