The Turtle Catcher (2009) I picked this book up because some of my girls were reading mystery, and I needed a break from some of the heavy non-fiction I had been reading. The first chapter captivated my attention, and I was slowly let down after that. I enjoyed aspects of the historical fiction, but I wasn't prepared for the sexual content of the book, and felt it unnecessary and unwarranted. In the end, I regretted staying up late to read it. It really wasn't worth that much effort. Written by a woman growing up on a southern MN Farm, the setting of the novel, the story tells of treatment of Germans in the town of New Germany, MN during WWI. The "turtle catcher" is a backward man who is skilled at catching turtles, but little else and who also suffers from unforgiveable treatment from his brutish father. He is befriended by a girl (slightly deformed and thus feeling an outcast)) and their friendship leads to the opening scene in which the girl's three brothers drown the turtle catcher. As with the opening scene, many of the following are ugly and sordid, telling of people's behavior when they are driven by fear. Good people, expecially the DR and his daughter bring light to the novel, but the story is a reminder that we operate sometimes from fear and ignorance--in regard to family secrets and world politics.