McCollum's Run [Paperback]

Patrick O'Donnell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2003

Private Investigator Phil Oxnard and his wife Paula are treated to a complimentary two-week stay at Pole Pine Lodge in the Sierras. Soon after their arrival, Phil learns of a young man who dropped out of sight several months earlier and was last heard from while in the vicinity of Pole Pine Lodge.

Within the next few days a brutally beaten woman falls into a coma, a prize-winning painting is vandalized, and a lodge employee is found dead in the woods, the ostensible victim of a hunting accident. Phil is sure all of these events are related. The question is how?

Phil finds he has no choice but to investigate. It’s not long before his relaxing vacation turns into a veritable busman’s holiday.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...This well written novel leads off at a fast pace and keeps flowing throughout the story." -- Angie Dobson, All About Murder

"...plot moves along at a brisk pace -- few words wasted and just the right number of red herrings." -- Mary Elizabeth Devine, reviewingtheevidence.com

About the Author

Patrick O’Donnell, born and raised in Los Angeles, has enjoyed a varied career including teacher, university administrator, resort operator, and principal of a registered investment advisory firm. His first mystery novel, Ortega Night, was published in 2000. He and his wife Lorraine live in Escondido, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (September 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595292348
• ISBN-13: 978-0595292349
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,977,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a complex sedate mystery, January 13, 2004

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: McCollum's Run (Paperback)

In the second adventure of Senior Citizen PI Oxnard, his first was ORTEGA NIGHT, Phil & Paula are staying at a ski lodge just as hunting season opens in California's High Sierra. They're there to check on a relative's investment when they are drawn into a missing person search. Then an award-winning painting is vandalized & before anyone has a clue, the artist is bludgeoned into a coma.

Now the mountain communities don't look quite so idyllic, & as Phil & Paula talk to the locals, sifting through the clues, they themselves edge closer to danger.

Rebeccasreads recommends MCCOLLUM'S RUN as an entertaining evening's read.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the vacation they had planned!, January 14, 2004

By 

Ingrid Taylor "Author, Book Reviewer" (Springfield, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: McCollum's Run (Paperback)

The Oxnards' vacation begins the investigation of a lifetime. When private investigator Phil Oxnard and his wife Paula arrive at Pole Pine Lodge for a brief stay, they find unanswered questions about the death of an acquaintance, as well as the disappearance of a family member of a new friend. As they search for answers, a woman is beaten and left for dead, another man is fatally wounded, and it's obvious someone is covering their tracks in a hurry.
As Roy McCollum's death from a heart attack is investigated, learning the circumstances of his life brings to light a number of reasons he may be wanted dead. Are the other deaths related, or is it coincidence? Phil feels he cannot leave the lodge or rest easily until he answers the questions that plague the case even though the police are treating each as a separate case.

Patrick O'Donnell's McCollum's Run takes place at a mountain resort in the Sierra's and it serves as a wonderful background to a captivating mystery. The background knowledge of the area as well as knowledge of lodging and hospitality gives the book a feeling of reality that will draw the reader in and keep the plot moving at a quick pace. Mr. O'Donnell manages to make the reader feel right at home among the staff at Pole Pine lodge.

This well written novel leads off at a fast pace and keeps flowing throughout the story. Great secondary characters, as well as main characters give the book a superb cast in which to hide the perpetrator. A complete surprise on who commits the crimes gives this novel a plot and climax to make every reader stop and reflect on their own feelings and actions in the circumstances. I would recommend this story to any mystery reader!

-Angie Dobson