Customer Reviews

The Drifter's Wheel: A Fever Devilin Novel (Fever Devlin Mysteries)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Drifter's Wheel by Phillip DePoy is the sixth book in his fabulous Fever Devlin series. Fever was a college professor teaching about folk tales when in a political mess he lost his position. Fever returned home to Blue Mountain, Georgia and has been running into murders and strange doings ever since. It's gotten so that every time a dead body shows up, people look to Fever for answers. I absolutely adore this mystery series. It's unusual in its love for things past. Fever is a a bit obsessed with folk tales and songs, so bits and pieces of them tend to bleed into every investigation. He an an encyclopedic knowledge, and what he doesn't know, good friend Shakespearean professor Winton Andrews does. Every exchange between these two friends is a treasure. In this story, a man claiming to be over a hundred years old shows up in Fever's home one night with a strange story about brothers killing brothers and the creation of the Tango. Fever is fascinated at first and then frightened when the man starts waving a gun. When Fever calls the police, the man disappears into the night, only to turn up dead the next morning. But the body doesn't look exactly like the intruder, so Fever and Andrews are off to investigate one hundred years of fratricide. DePoy's descriptions of the landscape are lyrical, and the mystery, as usual, raises more questions than it answers.

I like mysteries. This is my first by this author. I found the plot hard to get into and difficult to follow. It became for me a forced read. I use Amazon a lot to select books based on the reviews of others. This was one of the few times I found the ratings and comments so out of line with my own reading experience.

"The Drifter's Wheel" is Phillip DePoy's fifth novel in his series about Fever Devilin a southern folklorist who seems to spend his time between interviewing mountain locals about their and their community's past, and solving murders.

This time around Devilin is waylaid coming into his house by a young man who claims to have fought in the First World War, and tells an old story of fratricide and betrayal. The man keeps waving an old gun around, and seems seriously disturbed. Devilin manages to keep him talking and finally gets to the phone and calls the local sheriff. The man manages to disappear while Devilin's back is turned, only to have somebody, who is obviously related to him, turn up dead in the mysterious man's clothes.

And so goes the mystery, who is the dead man, and who is the mysterious young man, who claims to be Truck Jackson? And why had Truck previously talked to Devilin's fiancé claiming to be a man who had fought in the civil war and who had murdered his brother, and why had Truck also talked to Devilin's unstable neighbor claiming to have fought in the Second World War. It was during this conversation with the neighbor that the neighbor's old pistol had disappeared and may have been used to murder the found man.

I have to be honest, I never try to figure out who did what in these cozies; I just go along for the ride. The fun is in the trip to the conclusion of the tale. The problem is that the set-up gives you hints of the supernatural, which is what drew me to this book, and it just ain't here, as the ending is rather banal.

The mystery in and of itself though would probably make a decent tv movie, although not much more than that. The basic problem is the characters. Devilin is alright, although I would have liked to have seen his job as a folklorist have had a more direct influence on the mystery itself, although it does help solve the crime. While DePoy tries for quirky in his characters, he ends up with a lot of cardboard characters right out of central casting. There's the redneck hillbilly moonshiner wanting to shoot first and ask questions later, the intolerant bible thumping old biddy, the broken and persecuted daughter, the unstable neighbor, etc. The worst though is Devilin's best friend Winton Andrews, who is supposed to be Devilin's sidekick, and the novel's comic relief, but who is just annoying and acts like an ass.

In the end, while the novel's main mystery is a bit convoluted, it kept my attention, but I can't see myself reading anymore of DePoy's mysteries in the future. Giving credit where credit is due, I liked the cover.

In Georgia Appalachia, an odd stranger calls on folklorist Fever Devilin. The young man is a ball of nervous passionate energy as he relates his story to Devilin. Unable to sit quietly, he insists he is a century old and fervently begins telling Devilin about his past as he claims to have survived gas warfare in the European trenches during WWI and learning to tango following a murder At Madam Biscoe's House in the Windy City. Soon after his fervor slows down a bit he pulls out a gun, but falls into a deep sleep in the middle of some rant.

Devilin assumes the sleeping stranger is either on drugs or simply loco so he calls the sheriff, who tells him he has received similar calls; however before Skid reaches Fever's home, the vagrant vanishes. The next morning the murdered corpse of a drifter, wearing the identical clothes as Fever's visitor, is found. Devilin needs to know if the victim was his strange storyteller so he investigates the homicide.

The latest Devilin regional amateur sleuth is not an easy read as the stranger is so abnormal with his rant, his gun, and his abrupt nap he is frightening yet so real. While totally disturbing the reader, he also absorbs the audience like he did Devilin with a need to know the truth of who he is, how he got to this point in which his sanity is questioned, and is he dead; if not who is. THE DRIFTER'S WHEEL is thought provoking, gripping and well written, but haunting as this tale will stay with readers long afterward.

Harriet Klausner

Phillip DePoy's THE DRIFTER'S WHEEL will keep you spinning as Fever Devilin hunts for a killer who visited him, Hoovis Daniels (an old man), and Lucinda Foxe (Fever's fiancee) the night before he changed clothes with another man and killed him. He told each of them the same story of brother killing brother, but in three different wars.
What does this man want and why is he pretending to be someone who died fifty to a hundred years ago? Fever must discover the answer before the man kills again and he may be first on the list.
DePoy is one of the best noir reads in the mystery field.
Nash Black, author of SANDPRINTS OF DEATH.

I've been reading the Fever Devlin series since it began. I have enjoyed watching the growth of the characters, and the writing has improved in each book as well. Having a unique lead is fairly rare in the mystery genre, and using the underlying abilities appropriately is also uncommon. To me, both of those are present here. I'm looking fprward to the next book in the series.

I love the Fever Devlin series and this one was not a let down. Great characters and easy prose. Always a good plot with twists and turns. Keep up the good work!

I've read all of DePoy's mystery novels. He gets better and better. This one is good. Entertaining and a quick read.

I started reading "The Drifter's Wheel" late on Saturday night and several times I thought I'd put it down. Next thing I know, I had turned the final page for the satisfying ending. Phillip DePoy is an interesting person who throws all kinds of interesting background into his books. I learned about the origin of the Tango in America, the making of applejack whiskey and a Civil War singing group, while all the time pursuing a mysterious stranger. Great stuff! Can't wait for the next one.

The Drifter's Wheel is Phillip Depoy's best novel yet, I believe. Having read all of his previous novels including those in the Flap Tucker series I think Mr. Depoy has produced his most engaging novel. Being intimately familiar with life in the academic environment, he brings expert knowledge of that milieu to his stories. Also, culturally, reading one of Depoy's books is like making a visit to the North Georgia Hill Country.

This novel is very well written and beware, because you will be through it before you realize it. The plot zips along and the characterization is excellent as usual for Depoy. If you enjoy reading about warm characters who although not perfect do their best, I highly recommend this book.