Bone Dry

The opening of deer season always brings a Texas-sized wave of excitement to sleepy Blanco County, but this year, game warden John Marlin is finding mysteries as thick as ticks on a whitetail's rump. First, there are reports of a blonde bombshell who's been raising Cain with hunters, scaring away wildlife and trashing vehicles. Then, there's the tragic discovery of a local man shot to death and left in his deer blind. Further muddying the watering holes are the schemes of a recently relocated East Coast wiseguy now called Sal Mameli, who along with his son Vinnie-a wannabe gangster with more muscles than brains-has been trying to corner the area's lucrative brush-clearing market. And finally, a feisty old rancher has disappeared, leaving behind a trail of blood and enough questions to keep both John Marlin and the local sheriff chasing their tails for some time to come.Just as he did in his Edgar Award-nominated novel Buck Fever, Ben Rehder serves up a generous helping of murder, mystery and down-home humor in a place where the sun is hot, the beer is cold, and 'most every neck is good and red.