Award-winning journalist crafts a propulsive climate change thriller in ‘We Can’t Save You’
“We Can’t Save You: A Tale of Politics, Murder, and Maine,” By Thomas E. Ricks. Pegasus Crime, Hardcover, 304 pages. $27.95
Thomas Ricks, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist (Washington Post, Wall Street Journal) and part-time Deer Island resident, draws on his deep reporting background in his second Ryan Tapia novel, “We Can’t Save You.” Ricks’ newest story, set in the near future, masterfully weaves together Native American protests, political maneuvering and military history.
Tapia, an FBI agent still reeling from the loss of his family in 2024’s “Everyone Knows But You,” is a lonely figure stationed as the only federal agent in Bangor. His grief strikes a chord with readers, so we are happy for him when he begins dating Solidarity Harrison, a strong-willed, uber-successful seafood purveyor with major political ambitions.
The action kicks off when “Peeled Paul” Soco, of the fictional Malpense tribe, witnesses a Native American hurled from a plane to his death. The body lands inches from him as he fishes off the island where he has been hiding for two years, repenting a past transgression. Forty-eight hours later, Soco discovers a dead Malpense Indian drifting in a boat. He takes these deaths as a sign — it is time for him to leave the island, to “repay that debt to nature” and to return to his people.
Soco recognizes his obligation to his people by organizing a series of climate change demonstrations. The protesters believe the Anglos are “corrupt and doomed” and to blame for the warming of the planet, including its devastating impact on the ocean. Ricks illustrates their concerns with stark facts, painting a bleak vision of the future of land and seas. Agent Tapia monitors their activities closely, as he’s responsible for ensuring the demonstrations are lawful and peaceful.
Soco leads the first phase of their campaign, the Tide is High, which focuses on the ocean’s growing distress: lobster shells thinning from acidic waters, oysters budding too early, and disruptions to insect and bird life, including a Mexican crested caracara drifting off the coast of Maine, far from its usual territory. These environmental threats are especially important to the Malpense because their land abuts the ocean. When the tide rises over the highway leading to Eastport, the group’s point is made loud and clear.
In the aftermath of the Tide is High movement, Soco meets James Reveur of the fictional Quivive tribe, and Ricks deftly uses their dialogue to advance the plot:
“I heard about your demonstrations, looked them up on Insta, and wanted to come see. You’re all over Indian TikTok,” Reveur says to Soco when they first meet. “So what’s next?” he wants to know.
“We are Indians planning a march to protest the burning of the world and trying to reframe our relationship with nature,” Soco tells Reveur, his environmental passion persuading Reveur to join the movement.
The two men organize a month-long March to the Future, designed to bring ever more attention to the mounting dangers of climate change. The march begins in Quoddy, winds through Washington County and Ellsworth, continues down to Camden and to Wiscasset. Along the way, Reveur, Soco and their followers occupy vacant summer homes along the Maine coast, which draws the ire of the U.S. president.
The campaign takes a darker turn in Wiscasset, when its leaders realize there is nothing more to say to the “Anglos (who would not) stop burning the world.” They head back north, seeking refuge from floods, poisoned skies and dying oceans. Their hope is to take shelter at a long-abandoned POW camp on the Canadian border. But when the president federalizes the site, the activists flee to Canada. Ricks draws on his background covering wars and the military in this pivotal section, which also solidifies our understanding of Tapia’s loyalties and fully reveals Harrison’s political power.
Tapia’s character in “We Can’t Save You” could have been better fleshed out. For her part, we learn Harrison is a bisexual, a graduate of Harvard Law, and she has deep pockets, all qualities her political consultant weighs carefully in crafting her campaign strategy. Her cutthroat nature helps her political career but may prove damaging to those closest to her, Tapia among them.
Tapia, who is working hard to try to solve the murders that opened the novel as well as deal with the protestors, is torn between his admiration for the Native Americans and his loyalty to the government. His wounded soul draws our empathy throughout. But readers’ true admiration may go to Soco and Reveur. Their grit and unwavering devotion to their people, rooted in their deep love of land and ocean, sustains the protest movement and inspires their brethren. The book’s thrilling denouement has a cinematic quality, making us clamor for another Tapia novel.
Wayne Catan is an English teacher at Brophy College Preparatory in Arizona and Head Wrestling Coach.
AUTHOR EVENT
WHAT: Maine Voices Live. Writer Thomas E. Ricks will discuss his second novel, “We Can’t Save You,” with Press Herald reporter Ray Routhier.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 9 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: One Longfellow Square, 181 State St., Portland
TICKETS: $10. Get them here.