Rate: 3/5
Medium: Audiobook
Overview (No Spoilers): How many times in your life have you read a book with a buffalo on the cover? A few months ago my friend recommended a nonfiction book about the history of the American buffalo. I remembered looking it up at my public library, but I had thought the title was not available in the vast catalogues so I left it unaddressed on my TBR list. Five months later I was shocked when I received a notification that the library had obtained a book with a buffalo on the cover for me based on a prior request. When downloading the book, I was honestly not paying much attention to the rest of the book, including not reading the title. Pleased with the happy surprise, I’d made the assumption I’d misremembered not finding my nonfiction read all those months ago and must have accidentally requested it, because what are the odds that there was a second buffalo book I’d requested and forgot about. (Hint: Please note the heavy foreshadowing occurring in this paragraph.)
A half hour into the read I was thoroughly engrossed. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter started with a forward written by the tenure track professor who transcribed this journal of her many times great grandfather. While I commiserated along with her about the purgatory of tenure, I was shocked at the colloquialism of her opening, but as this read was recommended by a fellow scientist I overlooked the unexpected forward as boldness (not fiction). Her ‘great’ grandfather was a Lutheran pastor during the wild west of the frontier and he brought to life this rugged existence beyond civilization.
Another hour into the read, my suspicions grew that this book might not be nonfiction and after actually reading the title for the first time (a full hour and a half into this read), a quick search revealed that I was not in fact reading a history of the American Buffalo. Instead, I was immersed in a horror fiction that I could not put down. Chagrinned (and amused) the sliver of a memory emerged of NPR having a glowing recommendation for The Buffalo Hunter Hunter that had me request this from my library months and months ago, before promptly forgetting about the title.
As for the book itself, the writing is exquisite and the path which Jones chooses to develop this story is winding and brilliant. Jones’ rough world is shaped through the eyes of Arthur Beaucarne who is nearing the end of his long life. As a pastor, Arthur draws us in with humor, a lack of willpower regarding food, and a constant running commentary of his parishioners’ faults. There’s a palpable feeling that grows with every passing chapter that there is more to his story due to multiple passing references to the changing world. Jones captures the visceral feeling of Arthur’s time period being one of active change, with the wild frontier days becoming something of the past.
Where the story takes a fascinating turn coincides with simultaneous arrival of a suspicious dead body just outside of town, along with the mysterious Good Stab who starts to show up to Arthur’s sermons and stays after for confession. These sessions continue over a few weeks, getting more and more bizarre in nature, especially when combined with more unexplained bodies showing up outside of town.
Where the story takes a fascinating turn coincides with simultaneous arrival of a suspicious dead body just outside of town, along with the mysterious Good Stab who starts to show up to Arthur’s sermons and stays after for confession. These sessions continue over a few weeks, getting more and more bizarre in nature, especially when combined with more unexplained bodies showing up outside of town.
The dread in this story sneaks up on you until I was surprised to find goosebumps on my own arms. It was evident that Good Stab was building to something horrifying, and by the last confession, it was fairly predictable with what was coming, but it didn’t stop there and the terror continued right up until the last page.
There was a rape scene that was triggering and beyond shocking that came seemingly out of no where. It was enough to make me put down the book for a little bit, exhausted from all of the violence and darkness.
The ending also seemed rushed and with some key holes. That said, the story kept me glued right up until the end. Overall, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is most definitely not nonfiction, though it could fool you for an hour or so. Jones’ writing and storytelling throughout is masterful and will keep you glancing in dark corners even after finishing the last page.
Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):
- Are there other people like the cat man? Could he ever come back from being a catfish?
- Poor Arthur Beaucarne? Why did he not attack his many great granddaughter?
The Critiquing Chemist 