Breaking Blue

By: Timothy Egan

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

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

Behind the scenes

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

One good cop many bad ones

The story revolves around two policemen, polar opposites. One Tony Bamonte is a man of a sure moral compass and great integrity. The other Clyde Ralstin is a cowardly cop killing murderer and thief. There are others in the cast of this story, notably, the chief of police of Spokane, Terry Magin, who is a weak, vindictive coward. This is a great story and book. It will make you angry, at the Spokane government and police, and proud of the lonely hero Tony Bamonte.

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.

Good

Moves on nicely. A good story well told. Gives you some insight into aspects of the real world and how things work. Or don’t.

Fascinating Spokane history

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