Holy Moly [Hardcover]

Ben Rehder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 2008

When televangelist Peter Boothe decides to build a megachurch on the banks of the Pedernales River, he thinks his biggest problem will be a few unhappy neighbors. However, when backhoe operator Hollis Farley unearths a rare fossil on the construction site---a discovery that could lead to plenty of embarrassing Darwinian publicity---the cover-up begins. Soon, Farley is dead, shot in the back with an arrow, and Game Warden John Marlin is asked to help with the case.

What he and the local deputies find is a suspect list of biblical proportions: Could it have been the bitter geology professor? The private fossil collector with a somewhat unusual fetish? The minister’s wife who takes the Commandments rather lightly? Or the geriatric environmentalist with a mean right hook? Nothing is sacred in Rehder’s most laughable satire yet, a twisted tale of greed, corruption, infidelity, and, yes, paleontology.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Edgar-finalist Rehder's sixth Blanco County (Tex.) mystery (after 2007's Gun Shy) may be the best to date in this rollicking crime series. Soon after Hollis Farley, a backhoe operator clearing land for televangelist Peter Pastor Pete Boothe's controversial new religious complex, discovers an Alamosaurus skull, an arrow hits Farley in the back, and the fossil skull disappears. Whodunit and whotookit? Series regular Red O'Brien persuades his best friend and housemate, 300-pound Billy Don Craddock, to whom Farley had mentioned the valuable discovery, to court Farley's sister, Betty Jean, to see if she has the missing fossil. Other suspects include Vanessa, Pastor Pete's unfaithful wife; debt-ridden Alex Pringle, Pete's right-hand man; and Snake Sawyer, a convicted burglar who works for Darwin Parker, a dino-loving millionaire. Rehder's satirical take on greed, faith and foolishness moves at a swift clip, punctuated with dizzy twists and even bittersweet turns, like a good toe-tapping, country and western tune. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—The quirky cast of this mystery includes a televangelist who bilks millions from his viewing audience, his adulterous wife, their less-than-upright chief financial officer, a love-smitten game warden, and a private fossil collector who engages in strange, dinosaur-related sex. Peter Boothe plans to build a mega-church on the banks of the Pedernales River, but things begin to go awry when a dinosaur fossil is uncovered. Hollis Farley, the backhoe operator, is torn—does he report his find to proper paleontologists and provide the world with an amazing discovery, or does he keep silent and sell it to the highest bidder? Hollis is considering his options when, unfortunately, others step in, and he is found dead with an arrow through his back. Who has the most to gain and the least to lose? Rehder's tale of greed, corruption, betrayal, and fraud is fun, fast-paced, and a satisfying whodunit that will leave readers laughing and looking for the earlier books in the series.—Joanne Ligamari, Rio Linda School District, Sacramento, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (May 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312357540
• ISBN-13: 978-0312357542
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #654,668 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

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviewing: Holy Moly, June 8, 2008

By 

Kevin Tipple (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Holy Moly (Hardcover)

The death of backhoe operator Hollis Farley appears at first glance to be a tragic accident. Found underneath his overturned rig on land he was clearing to make way for a mega church near the Pedernales River, Hollis Farley died on the job. But, this is Blanco County where weird things happen and this one is another. Instead of being killed when the backhoe hit a boulder and flipped as first theorized, it turns out that he was shot in the back with an arrow capped with a broadhead hunting point.

As the case unfolds and Game Warden John Marlin's involvement increases, the facts and the people involved get stranger and stranger. Finding a dinosaur bone on the property of the planned mega church didn't get Hollis Farley killed. What he did afterwards just might have done the trick. With so many having a motive for doing the deed, it is up to John Marlin and Sheriff Bobby Garza to flush the real killer out before he or she strikes again.

Much like he did with "Gun Shy" Austin, Texas area writer Ben Rehder has penned another often funny novel that lets everyone in sight have it. This time his main target is the religious hypocrisy often found in the mega churches. It is tempting to speculate a bit as to which church served as inspiration but unnecessary. Considering past events across the country, this satiric novel could easily become too real in coming months as no doubt another religious leader of a mega church will be caught doing something very wrong. It is inevitable--much like news reports of Jesus sightings in recently washed windows and fried food products.

In the meantime what we have here is yet another often funny novel sent in Blanco County, Texas featuring a strange murder, a ton of offbeat characters, and the resulting twisted and often funny search for justice. The book is another tale of the weird, funny and often absurd that packs a punch to the mind and the gut. Beyond the continuing romance involving John Marlin there is no real character development to speak of regarding the returning characters. That romance is a minor factor in the book with most of the focus on the murder case and the cast of offbeat characters who are involved at various levels. The result is a good piece of work with plenty of comedy and mystery guaranteed to keep readers entertained to the very last page.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2008

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of side plots!, July 23, 2008

By 

R. Kelly Wagner "[e-mail]" (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holy Moly (Hardcover)

While several reviewers have concentrated on the religion part of the story, what is interesting to me about this installment of the John Marlin series is the great number of side plots. While a mega-church owns the land the fossil is found on, the actions of the church officials are only part of what's going on.
The other plots include:
* an attempt by an old opponent of Marlin's to alienate Marlin's fiancee - which she foils nicely; I won't spoil it with the details, but there are serious as well as funny aspects to it;
* Billy Don's blossoming romance - a character I've always had a sneaking fondness for, Billy Don was never as dumb as his pal Red, and he has deserved a way to stop being just a farce character;
* Jerry Strand's marriage - will it survive, or won't it?
* Martha the library lady vs. Snake the hacker.

While it's possible to enjoy this book as a stand-alone, it's more fun if you have been following the series, so that the involvement of continuing characters in these extra plots makes more sense. Without that sense of participating in the ongoing lives of the characters, the actual murder itself is a bit thin on excitement. But of course the details that Rehder puts in about the Hill Country, and the digs at the University of Texas in Austin, and the humor he brings to all the plot lines more than make up for the fact that the solving of the murder is not the majority of the book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Won't Want It To End!, May 25, 2009

By 

N. Smith "Book Worm" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holy Moly (Hardcover)

This is the first Ben Rehder book I've read, but it won't be the last. How he manages to keep a large cast of characters (and that they are) on track throughout this yarn shows his genius. Many of the other reviews already have given a good synopsis of the plot so I'll just say buy the book. You won't be disappointed.