Buffalo Bill's Defunct: A Latouche County Mystery [Paperback]

Sheila Simonson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2008

Sheriff's investigator Rob Neill made a mess of his first case, the theft of sacred artifacts belonging to the Klalo, a Native American tribe from the western end of the Columbia River Gorge. Ten years later, a stolen petroglyph emerges-along with a body buried in a garage. Neill sees a chance to redeem himself, with the help of his new neighbor, librarian Meg McLean. Her information-retrieval skills work together with the police investigation-but the partnership threatens to turn unprofessionally romantic. Meanwhile, two more people are murdered, and the Klalos' feisty chief, Madeline Thomas, has her own agenda that seems to hinder as much as help. Can a kind of justice finally come to Latouche County?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This middling first of a new series from Simonson (Larkspur) features a familiar mystery-solving duo of police professional and amateur sleuth: sheriff's deputy Rob Neill, who's inherited his grandmother's house in the town of Klalo, Wash., and his new next-door neighbor, Meg McLean, freshly arrived from Southern California to head up the town's library system. When a dead body is found buried in Meg's garage, their friendship moves from budding romance to investigative partners, as Rob deputizes Meg so he can take advantage of her research skills. A strong narrative line focused on the looting of Native American artifacts isn't enough, alas, to carry an otherwise bland and awkwardly plotted story. The novel is set in one of the country's most visually stunning areas, yet almost no attention is given to the landscape. The book's title, from an e.e. cummings poem, is the book's most original aspect. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Sheila Simonson can always be relied on for appealing, intelligent protagonists, witty dialogue, a great sense of place, and suspense galore." -- Carola Dunn, the Daisy Dalrymple mysteries

"Buffalo Bill's Defunct had me from the title. The book's plot, characters, setting, and theme all click together just right to make for highly entertaining reading." -- Bill Crider, the Sheriff Dan Rhodes mysteries

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Perseverance Press (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880284960
• ISBN-13: 978-1880284964
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,323,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A witty, satisfying read, August 24, 2008

By 

Pat Browning "Author of ABSINTHEOF MALICE" (Yukon, OK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Buffalo Bill's Defunct: A Latouche County Mystery (Paperback)

After a 10-year hiatus to take care of her elderly parents, Sheila Simonson is back with a new series. Fans of her "Lark Dodge" series (LARKSPUR,SKYLARK, MUDLARK, MEADOWLARK, MALARKEY) will welcome the new protagonist and storyline.

Meg McLean, a 40-ish librarian, has packed up her life and her belongings to move from Southern California to Klalo, a small town on the Columbia River Gorge. When she settles in, she will report for her new job as head librarian of the regional library.

Her next-door neighbor is called upon to help her get her moving van unhooked. Rob Neill is a sheriff's investigator, and the sensitive, silent type. (Think Henry Fonda in "My Darling Clementine.") He arranges for a couple of deputies to help Meg unload, and what should they find but a body stuffed into a hidey-hole in the garage.

Klalo is a small town. Neighbors live cheek by jowl and tend to show up without knocking first. Anyone could have got into the garage. When the body is identified as that of a young Klalo Indian boy, enter Madeline, chief of the Klalo, a formidable woman with a network of spies tracking a 10-year-old crime involving stolen petroglyphs. As Rob says, "Madeline ought to be in charge of Homeland Security."

This is a traditional mystery, finely wrought. The story moves along at a comfortable pace, with a bit of romance to spice things up. The story turns on the theft of Indian artifacts and Madeline's determination to find and recover them, but it's Meg who figures out who is hiding them, and why.

BUFFALO BILL'S DEFUNCT is a witty, satisfying read.

Pat Browning
Author of FULL CIRCLE

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Odd Couple, December 3, 2008

By 

Ted Feit (Long Beach, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Buffalo Bill's Defunct: A Latouche County Mystery (Paperback)

The pairing of a Sheriff's chief investigator and a librarian makes for an odd combination in more ways than one. But when it works, as it does in this engaging novel, there's nothing to complain about. Sheriff's investigator Rob Neill has been haunted by his lack of success in solving his first case, the theft of sacred objects of the Klalo tribe from the western end of the Columbia River Gorge. Meg McLean has just been hired as the head librarian of the small town in which he works and lives. She buys a house next door to Rob and they develop a close working relationship--and then some.

A body is discovered buried in her garage, setting off a chain of events that brings Meg and Bob together (in more ways than one). Her information-retrieval skills prove useful in an investigation that grows as two more murders take place.

The author lives in Vancouver, WA, and the descriptions of the area in the book reflect her appreciation of the region. Written in a smooth style, the story progresses logically toward a suspenseful conclusion.

Recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simonson does it again!, May 11, 2009

By 

Auntie Annie (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Buffalo Bill's Defunct: A Latouche County Mystery (Paperback)

I was a fan of Simonson's previous "Lark" series. This series is even better. It is set in a small town, in a rural county of Washington State, an area with much natural beauty. In this book, the first in what I hope will be a long series, the heroine, Meg, moves into her new home, only to uncover a corpse buried in a hidey hole in the garage floor. Two more murders follow as Meg, deputized by the dishy detective next door, uses her skills as a librarian to help uncover the facts. Theft of Native American artifacts and the involvement of the local tribe complicate matters. Great read!