Gun Shy

Starred review from March 5, 2007
Straight-shooter Rehder sends up players on both sides of the gun control debate in his fifth Blanco County mystery (after 2005's Guilt Trip
), a humorous, intelligent take on a serious issue. John Marlin, a sure-footed game warden and Texas peace officer, doesn't believe in blaming guns instead of criminals for crime, but his views on Second Amendment rights are tested by a National Weapons Alliance (NWA) rally, planned for July 4 at the ranch of country and western superstar Mitch Campbell. Addled by 'shrooms, Mitch accidentally kills a Mexican gardener and turns to the smarmy NWA Texas chapter president, Dale Stubbs, for help covering up the crime. Meanwhile, SNATCH (Society of Nonviolent Americans to Control Handguns) plans a protest of the NWA rally. Subplots include NWA applicant Red O'Brien's ill-conceived schemes to sell a ditty to Mitch Campbell and former sitcom star Sabrina Nash's quest to prevent the release of the convict who years earlier shot her young son to death. This satire packs firepower and poignant surprises.

May 1, 2007
In his fifth outing, Texas game warden John Marlin ("Buck Fever") must determine who staged a murder to look like a hunting accident. The pro-gun National Weapons Alliance, about to have a big rally at the ranch of their spokesperson, country singer Mitch Campbell, sees this death as a gun control issue, and as events get out of hand, Marlin must move fast to solve it. Rehder continues to improve with each book. His latest tackles both sides of the Second Amendment debate with satirical humor and insight. Featuring plots that are more complex than those used in Bill Crider's Dan Rhodes series but not as outlandish as what you'll find in Kinky Friedman's crime novels, Rehder's series will appeal to fans of Southwestern mysteries laced with a bit of humor. Rehder lives near Austin, TX.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2007
Blanco County, Texas, game warden John Marlin takes on the pro-gun lobby in the fourth installment of this increasingly popular (and increasingly enjoyable) series. The latest big-name spokesman for the National Weapons Alliance has a big secret: he ain't who he says he is. And when someone threatens to blow the secret, all manner of mayhem ensures, including murder. With this novel, the Marlin series has completed the transition from light mystery to no-holds-barred madcap comedy crime fiction (a la Westlake or Hiaasen).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)