c. friese

By the fall of 1941 the depression plagued citizens of Northern California had had enough. Their region of enormous timber and mineral reserves was being ignored by those in power, so the populace proposed secession. Thus began the State Of Jefferson revolution, a whimsical notion which swelled to a wildly popular cry for independence.
Enter Augie Matayzel, a below average fellow wrongly accused of the murder of a powerful backer of the Jefferson movement. Augie is forced to launch his own probe of the crime, but, bedeviled by a drinking problem, an infatuation with the sister of his ex-wife, and an inability to suffer fools - one of whom often himself, he is ill-equipped for the task. When his lowly investigation intertwines with the turmoil of the secession, Augie realizes he may be on the right track - because someone has started shooting at him.