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Breaking Blue  By  cover art

Breaking Blue

By: Timothy Egan
Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
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Publisher's summary

In 1935, the Spokane police regularly extorted sex, food, and money from the reluctant hobos (many of them displaced farmers who had fled the midwestern dust bowls), robbed dairies, and engaged in all manner of nefarious crimes, including murder. This history was suppressed until 1989, when former logger, Vietnam vet, and Spokane cop Tony Bamonte discovered a strange 1955 deathbed confession while researching a thesis on local law enforcement history.

Bamonte began to probe what had every appearance of widespread police crime and a massive cover-up whose highlight was the unsolved murder of Town Marshall George Conff. The fact that many of those involved - now in their 80s and 90s - were still alive made it imperative that Bamonte unravel this mystery. The result is Breaking Blue, a white-knuckle ride through institutional corruption and cover-up that vividly documents Depression-era Spokane and an extraordinary case that few believed would ever be brought to light.

©1992 Timothy Egan (P)2016 Brilliance Audio

What listeners say about Breaking Blue

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Fascinating Spokane history

Great narration and loved learning the history of the Spokane area, it was all new to me

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Behind the scenes

A wonderfully detailed account of a long- forgotten, unsolved murder. I wonder, where is Tony today?

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Tony’s dogged determination to find an answer to a murder that everyone seemed to just forget about it.

I liked the story overall this author doesn’t fill the page with excessive details unrelated to the substance of his story. I have enjoyed all of his books, plain, simple and to the point.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Thought Provoking and Gritty Reality

As usual Tim Eagan masterfully tells a story that otherwise might never have reached further than the brief newscasts parts of the story created. A deep look into human behaviors- some horrid, others the power of conscience eventually winning out to illuminate the truth. I hope the Sheriff involved was able to move on to find some joy and peace in his later years.

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Glad I Discovered Egan

He’s my new favorite for historical crime. I love a Twitter that does the research.

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Excellent! Highly Recommended.

Timothy Egan is a hell of a good writer and very smart guy. He wraps his thoroughly researched narratives inside the fascinating times and places in which those stories are set.

Breaking Blue is every bit as engrossing as two of his other books, The Big Burn and The Worst Hard Times.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I really tried, but couldn't get thru it

I moved to Spokane several years ago, so when someone suggested this to me, I grabbed it and was looking forward to getting a little of Spokane history while enjoying an entertaining book. I only made it about half way thru before I just found myself drifting and not looking forward to listening to it. I took a break for a few weeks and tried to get back into it, but I just wasn't excited by it.

This book just has a little to much facts and not enough entertaining drama in the writing style. It is a story of government corruption. Am I suppressed this exists? Should I be on the edge of my seat waiting to hear how someone in power took advantage of their position for personal gain, as if this was the first time I had even heard about that concept? This is a story of bad people being bad people, but that doesn't make it entertaining.

Sorry, but I just didn't like it.

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