The Dogs Of Winter

Heart Attacks is California’s last secret spot – the premier mysto surf haunt, the stuff of rumor and legend. The rumors say you must cross Indian land to get there. They tell of hostile locals and shark-infested waters where waves in excess of thirty feet break a mile from shore. For down-and-out photographer Jack Fletcher, the chance to shoot these waves in the company of surfing legend Drew Harmon offers the promise of new beginnings. But Drew is not alone in the northern reaches of the state. His young wife, Kendra, lives there with him. Obsessed with the unsolved murder of a local girl, Kendra has embarked upon a quest of her own, a search for truth – however dark that truth may prove to be.

In this desolate wasteland the search for the perfect wave becomes a quest for survival, as events lead inevitably to their final, tragic climax.

'The story rides high, sped by prose as crisp as a breaking wave, as Nunn, a skilled author, once again writes deeply about a subject he knows and loves.'
- Publishers Weekly

'Nunn’s secret in ruling this small domain is to combine surfing with something more deserving of a spun yarn. In The Dogs of Winter, spiritually possessed Indian lands just happen to border a legendary northern California surfing spot. But there are no endless summers or dances with wolves for Nunn; his creaky old surfers numb themselves on pills and beer, and his Indians litter from pickup trucks.'
- Newsweek

'With a gravity and a narrative drive reminiscent of Robert Stone, Nunn evokes the autumnal sadness of active men past their prime, of formerly heroic figures still trying to catch the perfect wave, both figuratively and literally... This is a big, complicated story, and Nunn tells it masterfully. As in the best narratives, events play themselves out in ways that are both inevitable and surprising... harrowing... profoundly moving... Nunn has taken the youthful vigor, inventiveness, and wit of his earlier work and crafted something deeper and more mature: an epic homage to the ragged nobility of wounded man.'
- Washington Post Book World

'Stunning... extraordinary... compelling, violent, and very American... The Dogs of Winter has enough story to keep a reader on the edge of his seat for days on end... an amazing book.'
- BookPage