Guilt Trip: A Blanco County, Texas, Novel (Blanco County Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Ben Rehder (Author)

Book Description

Series: Blanco County Mysteries | Publication Date: August 11, 2005

Life in rural Blanco County, Texas, isn't what most folks would call exciting---and that suits game warden John Marlin just fine. He's happy to spend his days and nights protecting the local wildlife from poachers and the poachers from the local wildlife. There may be a shortage of attractive single women in town, a source of some frustration to Marlin over the years, but he's never really let it bother him. Too much . . .
Luckily, every now and then an incident comes along to spice things up for a while. When the tequila-slamming, skirt-chasing treasurer of the local Rotary Club goes missing, and his vehicle is found in the river the day after a big flood, Marlin knows he's found his latest distraction. At nearly the same time, a house down the road explodes in a shower of drug paraphernalia, and an exotic car turns up stolen from the missing man's barn. Marlin and good friend Sheriff Bobby Garza are soon overwhelmed, trying to figure out how everything connects together.
In the middle of it all, Marlin can't believe his luck when the strange goings-on put him in daily contact with a new member of the sheriff's department---beautiful deputy Nicole Brooks has just moved into the area and Marlin is just itching to show her around. He has to put his crush on the back burner, however, when events begin to spiral out of control in a way that's not altogether rare in recent Blanco County history. As the bullets start to fly and the bodies start to drop, talented, award-nominated author Ben Rehder keeps the plot moving and the laughs coming, in another spectacularly funny crime novel straight out of the zaniest imagination in Texas.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As funny as it is suspenseful, Rehder's fourth Blanco County mystery (after Flat Crazy) gets off to a fast start when his returning protagonist, game warden John Marlin, is called in to lead the search for a missing SUV owner feared drowned in a flash flood. Almost simultaneously, a local lowlife's house goes up in flames in what appears to be a meth-related explosion. Marlin suspects that the two incidents are somehow connected, and it isn't long before he finds out he's right-and that these events also involve his old friend Phil Colby, a rancher whose opposition to fencing in game on his land has incurred the anger of more than a few of his hunting neighbors. Rehder spices up his Texas-set mystery with other unsavory ingredients: a missing Corvette, a would-be country star turned hit man and a blackmailed state senator who favors unusual outfits during otherwise matter-of-fact sexual encounters. Well-paced, smartly plotted, full of memorable Hill Country denizens and crackling dialogue, this is diverting fun.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This series about Blanco County, Texas, game warden John Marlin keeps getting odder and funnier. In this latest installment, the author edges into the comic territory of Tim Dorsey, Bill Fitzhugh, and Carl Hiaasen. The story involves a state senator who'll do pretty much anything to keep his rather sleazy secret from coming out, but that's only one thread in this wacky tapestry. There are also a missing real estate agent, a nasty group of deer hunters, and a habitual but strangely likable criminal. Oh, and a pet psychic. The Marlin novels have always been humorous--mysteries that happened to be funny--but this one is a comedy that happens to be a mystery. The author's shift in emphasis will delight some series fans and (possibly) annoy others. But one thing's for sure: Rehder has jumped to a new level, and Guilt Trip just might grab a chunk of the outsize Hiaasen crowd. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (August 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312321333
• ISBN-13: 978-0312321338
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,436,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ben Rehder wanted to become a writer ever since he was dropped on his head as a toddler. As he grew into a young adult and the vertigo gradually dissipated, his passion for literature grew. Ben longed to craft the type of soul-stirring prose that would touch people's lives and help them explore new emotional horizons. But he went to work at an ad agency instead.

Throughout his rewarding and fruitful career in the ad business, Ben has been known to write such imaginative and compelling phrases as "Act now!," "Limited-time offer," and "Compatible with today's rapidly changing network environment."

However, there eventually came a time when, as unbelievable as it sounds, writing brochures and spec sheets simply wasn't enough to satisfy Ben's creative urges. Ben knew: It was time to write a novel.

"But what kind of novel?" Ben asked himself, drawing stares from passersby.

A mystery? A thriller? A work of suspense? Ben had read hundreds of books in these genres and loved them all. But nothing had sparked his creative juices enough to try it himself.

Fate played a hand one day when Ben's father-in-law tossed him a copy of a Carl Hiaasen novel. And then it hit him. It literally hit him, right in the forehead. When the swelling went down and Ben had a chance to read the book, he discovered a type of fiction he had never experienced before--the comic crime novel! He loved the wacky characters, the zany plots, the interesting writing that threw a good deal of humor into the mix.

So Ben set out to write his own novel. After many grueling minutes in front of a computer, Ben was proud to present Buck Fever. Like many best-selling classics, Buck Fever has lots and lots of verbs, prepositions, adjectives, and the occasional gerund. It was even nominated for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel!

Next came Bone Dry, Flat Crazy, Guilt Trip, Gun Shy, and Holy Moly. Ben's next novel--The Chicken Hanger--will be published in March of 2012. This news is certain to send chills of anticipation up your spine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You're Going on a Trip and Needing Something to Read on the Plane/Train, Rehder is a Brilliant Guilt Free Decision!, December 27, 2008

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Guilt Trip: A Blanco County, Texas, Novel (Blanco County Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Guilt Trip although still another Blanco County Texas set novel with game warden John Marlin, breaks new ground for this successful series in that part of the storyline leaves Texas and is set in Florida, which is where a lot of writers which Rehder's work is compared to, such as Carl Hiaasen, Dave Barry and Tim Dorsey set their novels. Don't worry Marlin doesn't become a coastguard officer or anything, he in fact never leaves Blanco County, but a few of the central to this storyline characters do flee there in a stolen corvette. I like this aspect as it shows us that when Rehder one day chooses to, he will have no problem writing a standalone storyline novel set wherever he wants to that is just as good as this series.

Basic plot of this one - A politician has received some photographs involving himself, his hot young secretary, a whip and a giant nappy. He is being blackmailed to pass a bill banning high fencing around properties which stop the migration of wildlife who cannot jump them, especially large trophy bucks. Of course being a corrupt individual he has been in the pockets of many rich landowners who quite like these large fences as they can selectively weed out smaller game and keep the big boys for the rich city slickers prepared to pay the big dollars to blow one away and hang its head on their walls. So some seedy characters who are good at persuading people to "do the right" thing are brought in to find the blackmailer. Meanwhile one of those pro high fence rich ranch owners has disappeared, his SUV found floating in the river, a lot of charity money he was responsible for as well as the prize, a brand new red corvette are also missing. Since one of Marlin's closest friends is very vocal about high fences being banned he is immediately a suspect for both the police and the dimwitted seedy characters after the blackmailer.

If you loved and have read all this series also check out the author C.J. Box and his Joe Pickett adventures which also follow a game warden based near a hunting culture small town filled with eccentric red necks, corrupt officials and other fun characters, his books are set in Wyoming. Open Seasonis the first novel in that great series, check it out!

It is important to note if this is a book you've just randomly come across, that you do not need to have read the first novel in the series Buck Fever, the second Bone Dry or third Flat Crazy to enjoy or follow the storyline of this novel. It also does not give away and key plot pieces of those former novels. Other than a reoccurring main character, game warden John Marlin, as well as other eccentric county residents who appear in each novel such as local redneck Billy Don and his friend Red, this series of fun adventures set in Blanco County Texas can be read in any order.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The saga continues!, September 23, 2005

By 

T. Kennedy "wormey reader" (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guilt Trip: A Blanco County, Texas, Novel (Blanco County Mysteries) (Hardcover)

It has been interesting to witness the author hone his skills and develope his identity through his continued efforts. "Guilt Trip" is by fall the best yet, he has managed to bring his stroy to life through the story-lines. I drive Highway 281 often and he captures the true sense of the people and places in this beautiful part of Texas. The author does a good job of misdirection and clue compounding in the vastly entertaining story. He has added depth to the main characters and introduced several new and colorful characters to keep the story line interesting. I can hardly wait for the next book to see how Marlin does with his new flame...

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dullest First Half of a Book I've read in years, September 6, 2007

By 

Bonner '62 (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Guilt Trip: A Blanco County, Texas, Novel (Blanco County Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

There are a lot of books about the Blanco County Game Warden who is the hero of this book so someone must like them. The first half was just terrible. I only kept reading because I try to finish all books, no matter how dull. In the second half of the book the focus shifts from the game warden and his even duller rural county law enforcement buddies and looks at the bad guys. That part is interesting, there just isn't enough of it to save the book. It is way too late for that. Also the big tough game warden turns into Beaver Cleaver at the 8th grade dance when faced with the pretty, competent, smart, insightful, brave, strong, female deputy. I guess the author had his eye on a screenplay and wanted to make sure there was a strong, central female character. He just went a little overboard. Like every single "thriller" written in the last ten years the cover blurbs say it's funny and fun. Believe me it is neither.