A Mammoth Murder

February 13, 2006
Brisk and funny dialogue propels Crider's diverting 13th mystery to feature Texas Sheriff Dan Rhodes (after 2003's Red, White, and Blue Murder
). When a dead body turns up in a Blacklin County forest better known for its bigfoot sightings, Rhodes hopes the murderer won't be as hard to catch as the legendary monster itself. One morning, town character Bud Turley alerts the sheriff that he's found bigfoot's tooth in a patch of woods notable mainly for its feral pigs—and for a local boy having disappeared there years back. When the fossil tooth proves to be that of a mammoth, Rhodes isn't surprised, but when the corpse turns out to be Turley's best friend—and when another murder takes place nearby, not long after—things really get complicated. Turley, meanwhile, has already summoned amateur bigfoot investigators nationwide to come to Blacklin County to investigate. Fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this playful romp with a Texas drawl.

May 1, 2006
Sheriff Dan Rhodes of Blacklin County, Texas, is hoping to escape the rigors of wife Ivy's low-fat diet with a trip to the Dairy Queen when Bud Turley-- referred to by the locals as Bud Squirrely--enters the office and asks him to guard the tooth he found in the woods and believes belongs to Bigfoot. But before they can summon the experts, the body of Larry Colley, Bud's pal and fellow Bigfoot believer, is discovered in the same woods, dead from a blow to the head. The tooth belongs to a mammoth and may be of some scientific interest, but before the excavation can begin, a local shopkeeper is also murdered: two bodies, no apparent motive and all very close to the site where a young boy disappeared a decade earlier. Rhodes moves forward in his quiet way, exploiting the small-town rumor mill as he develops a theory that will explain both the current and the older killings. The thirteenth Rhodes mystery is another satisfying puzzler populated by colorful Texas characters and driven by the author's distinctive, dry wit.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)