Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Prolific, popular outdoorsman and humorist McManus (The Bear in the Attic) departs from his trademark shaggy-dog stories with this novel set in current-day Idaho, the first in a new mystery series starring Blight County sheriff Bo Tully. Single, slimmed-down from the Atkins diet and highly interested in the ladies, Bo is blessedly unconcerned with the niceties of search warrants, suspect rights or any other impediment to his effective style of law enforcement. On the 75th birthday of his father, Eldon "Pap" Tully, former Blight County sheriff, a dead body turns up at the ranch of a family of ex-cons. Bo decides a murder investigation would be the perfect birthday present for Pap. The dead man is from Los Angeles, as are the next two corpses Bo and Pap find at the scene of a heavy firepower ambush-not Blight County's usual low-rent crime. Behind his hayseed cop exterior, Bo is smart, sneaky and relentless. Add lots of quirky suspects, criss-crossing motives and artery-clogging meals at Dave's House of Fry, and McManus delivers a brisk, hilarious smalltown cop mystery. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A wry Idaho sheriff and his crusty father solve a trio of rural murders. Divorced Sheriff Bo Tully plans to ask schoolteacher Jan Whittle if she'll go out with him, but he's sidetracked by her announcement that incorrigible runaway Glen Cliff, a battle-hardened 12 years old, has taken off again and is likely hiding in the mountains of Blight County. Before Tully can go after him, he gets a worrisome call about a corpse at the ranch of Batim Scraggs. On his way to examine the scene, Tully picks up his father, the former sheriff, who happens to be celebrating his 75th birthday, and he becomes Tully's unofficial deputy and wisecracking sidekick. The body, wearing a pinstriped suit, is draped over a fence. Nearby, in a car on the Littlefield place, are two equally well-dressed corpses. Things take a lively turn with the appearance of the new medical examiner, attractive Susan Parker. Despite his father's humorous asides, Tully manages to ask her on a date, during which the two fall asleep on separate pieces of furniture. Focusing much of his investigation on Littlefield patriarch Vern, who's always had trouble with both the law and his neighbor Scraggs, Tully eventually finds Glen and the killers. This series kickoff from prolific nonfiction author McManus (The Bear in the Attic, 2002, etc.), heavy on the banter, is one of the most entertaining mystery debuts in years. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
