Half in Love with Artful Death

June 9, 2014
Sheriff Dan Rhodes continues to maintain law, if not order, in Crider’s amiable 21st mystery set in Clearview, Tex. (after 2013’s Compound Murder). Normally, Rhodes and his deputies deal with such stuff as bar fights, robberies, domestic disputes, and stray donkeys, but a vandal’s attack on a show at Lonnie Wallace’s art gallery leads to more serious trouble. Curmudgeonly Burt Collins, who has been fussing about the influx of artists into the town and disapproves of Lonny because he’s gay, is caught coming out of the gallery shortly after the alarming incident. Things might have quieted down if Collins wasn’t subsequently murdered. Meanwhile, someone robs Oscar Henderson’s little store, a disagreement over prizes at the art show provokes a riot, and a naked woman is running around at a highway rest stop. Since Rhodes doesn’t have the crime fighting weapons shown on TV, he must get things done the old-fashioned way in this amusing tale. Agent: Kim Lionetti, BookEnds.

August 1, 2014

Texas sheriff Dan Rhodes finds out that not everyone appreciates art. After dealing with vandalism, rioting, runaway donkeys, and a meth gang, Rhodes discovers his local vandal dead with a fractured skull--courtesy of a bust of Dale Earnhardt Jr. The author won the Anthony Award for best first novel for his 1987 series debut, Too Late To Die; this is the 21st title (after Compound Murder).

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September 15, 2014
Texas sheriff Dan Rhodes is more accustomed to picking up shoplifters at the Pak-a-Sak than interviewing painters. But in his twenty-first outing, the small town of Clearview is overrun with artists in town for a conference and art show, which doesn't sit well with local malcontent Burt Collins. When the artwork on display for judging is vandalized, the artists point their stained fingers at Collins. Then, after Collins is bludgeoned to death with a Dale Earnhardt Jr. bust, the angry artists are the ones on the hot seat. Fans of this folksy series will enjoy Sheriff Rhodes' aw, heck humility as he uses charm and common sense to close another case and keep his friends and neighbors safe and sound.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)