Customer Reviews

Deservedly Dead

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This literate, thought-provoking mystery features the sort of murder victim everyone loves to hate: an obnoxious Eastern invader who destroys the tranquillity of the beautiful Colorado valley where Shirley McClintock's ranch is situated. He's killed the trees, poisoned the water, built sheds with glaring tin roofs, and driven away the wildlife. And he runs a screaming scrub-clearing machine all day seven days a week. Of course, there's no shortage of suspects. Shirley is as outspoken as ever, and she voices plenty of opinions to unsettle liberals and conservatives both. B.J. Oliphant is a pseudonym of SF/fantasy author Sheri S. Tepper. This whole series is very entertaining, and so is her other series of whodunits, written under the name A.J. Orde.

It was El Azoli, whose nickname among his neighbors was something much less polite. Shirley McClintock had just flown back from a trip to Washington D.C. to deal with some property she owned there when she discovers that her Colorado world had changed while she was gone. And the cause of it was El Azoli, an easterner who has no idea how to handle western ranch property.

But other things are changing around Shirley. Old friends and neighbors are passing away. Evils from the urban centers are reaching out toward her Colorado childhood home. Azoli's death could be due to having offended either the old or the new interests though. He was an equal opportunity jerk. But fate it seems is ready to play Shirley a bad hand when she is accused of this particular murder.

Sheri Tepper (B. J. Oliphant and A. J. Orde), who also writes wonderful science fiction, does a great job here. Unlike some mystery writers she never loses track of the fact that a murder is an intrusion into the lives of the characters, that there are still fences to mend and meals to cook. Shirley, J.Q., and Alison do not fit in any particular mould that would be described as family on a tax form, but they clearly care deeply for one another and for the land they live on.

"Deservedly Dead" is the third of seven "Shirley McClintock mysteries" penned by Sheri S. Tepper and published under the pseudonym of B. J. Oliphant between 1990 and 1997. This volume dates from 1992 and once again we find feisty Colorado rancher, Shirley McClintock, thoroughly embroiled in a complex and puzzling murder mystery -- perhaps too closely, this time, especially when she is arrested as the prime suspect.

The story follows on from the earlier volumes, "Dead in the Scrub" and "The Unexpected Corpse", only in that there it features minimal scene-setting or introduction to regular characters from the earlier books. The on-going development of foster-daughter Allison's relationship with Shirley and her laconic partner (and perfect foil), J.Q., continues here but at no time does this intrude unduly or draw attention away from the central mystery, for readers unfamiliar with their back-story.

The author does a more up-front job of bringing some of her favourite heavyweight issues to bear in this book than in previous volumes, with the issue of senseless habitat destruction forming the back-bone of the narrative's drive, while racial stereotyping, sexual inequality and poor parenting are never far away from the surface. She also has fun playing with the moral versus social justice angle of things too, by the end. Fear not, however; these issues are never overplayed nor allowed to over-burden an essentially light and engaging who-dunnit story; they just add a nice degree of depth to the book, giving those who care to think a little more to ponder about. Most readers will be through this story in little time at all, not because the book is short or insubstantial but, rather, because the pace is such that it is very hard to put down; one just feels the need to keep going! Ms Tepper seems to have really settled into her stride with the series by this point, with "Deservedly Dead" being decidedly better than either of its forerunners.

The central mystery itself will not tax the experienced who-dunnit reader unduly and most should have it worked out some considerable time before Shirley gets there herself (one of her neighbours even commenting at the end, "You're slowing up, McClintock"). As with other books in this series, there are a couple of glaring but unimportant narrative errors, giving the impression that some episodes were switched around within the story at some stage and not subsequently through-edited but these are minor and not at all likely to worry most readers. All in all, this is an excellent little murder mystery and should be snapped up by any lover of the genre.

In common with all of the books in this series, "Deservedly Dead" has long been out of print but there are usually a reasonable number of not-too-tatty second-hand paperback copies floating around at a fairly low price for those prepared to hunt. The Shirley McClintock mysteries continue with "Death and the Delinquent".

Oliphant, it seems, is incapable of writing a bad or even average mystery. Each one is bubbling with opinions, suspects and jerks just waiting to be bumped off. Her novels are down home and classy, hard edged and sweet and the unusual combinations always seem to work. If you read this book, be prepared to think and not just about who dunnit.