Murder Among the OWLS (Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mysteries, No. 14) [Hardcover]

Bill Crider (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2007

It was the cat who "told" Sheriff Dan Rhodes that something was wrong. It ran into the house when he opened the door. His wife, Ivy, recognized the cat as belonging to their neighbor and told Dan to go check on the widow--Helen Harris never let the cat out of the house.

When Dan finds Helen's body on her kitchen floor, there is nothing to indicate that her death wasn't an accident. But Ivy's words ring in his head. Why was the cat out?

Helen had been active in a number of women's groups, one of which was the OWLS, the Older Women's Literary Society. She and some other women would also venture out with digging tools to look for ancient booty in the lands around the town. They didn't usually find much, but every now and then someone would dig up a coin or a piece of jewelry with potential. Could this have been the reason for Helen's death?

The investigation becomes more complicated as Rhodes learns that she actually had a number of suitors. Also, a news-hungry reporter who smells a juicy story gives Rhodes more trouble.

This is the fourteenth book in which Bill Crider has wowed readers with the extraordinary adventures of his Sheriff Dan Rhodes. Add a cast of vibrant characters, including wise-cracking deputies and the slightly wacky local citizens in Rhodes's bailiwick, and every book in this series is a wonderful treat.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Crider's deadpan 14th Dan Rhodes mystery (after 2006's A Mammoth Murder), the appearance of a black cat at the sheriff's backdoor is a harbinger of bad news about its owner, Helen Harris, a community fixture and Old Women's Literary Society (OWLS) member. When Rhodes goes looking for Helen, he finds her dead on her kitchen floor, apparently from a tumble while changing a lightbulb. But the escaped housecat, which Helen never let outside, leads him to believe that her death was no accident but a cold-blooded murder. Helen's death sends shock waves rippling through the tight-knit community of Clearview, Tex., and Rhodes's investigation reveals how love among the Geritol set can be just as fraught as it is for the young. His shrewd handling of entertaining suspects—including a trailer park Don Juan Leo Thorpe and Helen's grieving lover—crackles with wickedly wry wit. Rhodes's laconic, laid-back detecting style—a cross between Tom Selleck and Willie Nelson—makes for top-notch down-home crime solving. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Black cats may foreshadow a streak of bad luck, or they can simply be furry companions for sweet old ladies like Helen Harris. When Sam, Helen's black cat, shows up on Sheriff Dan Rhodes' back porch, Rhodes goes to Helen's home to let her know Sam is loose but finds Helen dead in her kitchen. Did she really take a tumble off a ladder or is something amiss? Rhodes' instincts tell him the latter, so he begins to poke into Helen's seemingly sedate life in Blacklin County, Texas. Could a murderer lurk within the Older Women's Literary Society? Or perhaps someone covets the lucrative mineral rights Helen owns to property that will soon house natural gas wells? Rhodes carefully picks his way through the case and the suspects in his inimitable aw-shucks, slightly befuddled style. The fourteenth Rhodes mystery by Anthony Award-winning Crider is a typically rewarding read marked with dry humor, meticulous plotting, and insights into the mysterious rites of small-town life. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312348096
• ISBN-13: 978-0312348090
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,845,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and brought up in Mexia (that's pronounced Muh-HAY-uh by the natives), Texas, went to college at The University of Texas and North Texas State University, and taught high school and college classes for many years. In 1992 I retired as Chair of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College, in Alvin, Texas. I'm married to the lovely Judy, and we have two grown children, Angela, who's an attorney in San Francisco, and Allen, who's in the music business in Austin. Other than that, I'm a pretty boring guy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A laid back enjoyable mystery!, March 24, 2007

By 

Liz at reviewedbyliz.com "Because life is too... (Cedar Springs, Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Among the OWLS (Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mysteries, No. 14) (Hardcover)

Murder Among the OWLS starts off with a cat. This cat walks into the kitchen of Sheriff Dan Rhodes and settles in as if it lives there. Rhodes is surprised and amused until his wife sees the cat and knows what it means. She sends him to check on their neighbor Helen Harris, who never lets the cat out of the house. Rhodes finds Helen dead on the floor of her own kitchen, but is it murder or an accident? The fact that the cat is out indicates murder.

Rhodes finds himself looking for motives and a murderer in unusual places - the OWLS (Older Women's Literary Society), the Red Hat Society, and the Rusty Nuggets (a metal detector/treasure hunting group) are all groups that Helen Harris belonged to. He also crosses paths with a determined reporter, an angry man with a chain saw, two authors who have written a book about him, a bunch of illicit poker players, and his wife, who wants to keep the cat and insists Rhodes isn't really allergic to it.

I enjoyed this book and found Crider's style interesting. The overall mood of the book is very relaxed. While you might think that this would indicate a lack of plot or activity, it doesn't, things just get done in an unhurried fashion. And contributing to this laid back mood, Rhodes seems unflappable, even when disarming a chainsaw wielding man. His big concern is hiding his torn and bloodied shirt from his wife.

Which brings us to characters. This is the fourteenth book in this series and, instead of giving us detailed backgrounds on all the people who populate this small town, Crider expands on the ones who are key to the story and gives minimal but descriptive hints to the characters of the usual players. This keeps the book on track but lets us know this town is populated by real people and gives the book lots of flavor.

Favorite character? Rhodes' wife Ivy, who is a minor character in this book, but with whom he has an interesting relationship. Did I guess it? No. Will I read another? Yes, and I have many to look forward to.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Hoot from Blacklin County and Bill Crider, August 15, 2007

By 

Benjamin Potter "Loom & Wheel" (Mulberry Grove, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Among the OWLS (Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mysteries, No. 14) (Hardcover)

I finally got to read the latest in the Sheriff Dan Rhodes murder mystery series. This is novel number 14 in the series for veteran award-winner Bill Crider. I've lost count of all the short stories Rhodes has a part in. Again, Crider does not disappoint. Strolling (or driving) through Blacklin County is a hoot in this new tale of murder and deceit.

Helen Harris' cat shows up on Rhodes' doorstep leading up to the discovery of Mrs. Harris' body. The apparent accidental death turns out to be murder and leads our hero all over the county chasing friends, relatives, and rumors as he discovers who killed this active retired teacher who is a member, among other clubs, of the local OWLS (Old Women's Literary Society).

Filled with his normal cast of colorful characters and dry wit, mystery lovers will want to check this book out. Crider is on mark again with this latest edition in the Dan Rhodes saga.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An accidental death -- or is it?, March 17, 2007

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Murder Among the OWLS (Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mysteries, No. 14) (Hardcover)

When a black cat shows up at Dan Rhodes' house and his wife Ivy recognizes it as belonging to an elderly neighbor, Dan's sherriffing work begins. He finds Helen Harris dead on her kitchen floor, presumably having fallen when changing a light bulb. But a number of things just don't add up, and the verdict is murder. Who could have done it? Her cousin and potential heir Leonard, a local ne'er-do-well who runs

occasional illegal gambling nights and is known for womanizing as well? One of the members of the OWLS, a local book discussion group? A Red Hat Society matron? Someone in the Rusty Nuggets, a group that trots around the countryside with metal detectors in search of treasures? Or perhaps it was Alton Brant, Helen's companion, who turns out NOT to be the Colonel everyone thought he was. Nevertheless, Dan Rhodes is the sheriff of Blacklin County, Texas, and it's up to him to figure out the situation. Along the way he gets shot at, dragged through the mud, nicked by a chain saw, and hit several times with a butterfly purse. Life can be tough in rural Texas.

This is the fourteenth book in the Sherrif Dan Rhodes series, and it's the first one I've had a chance to read. It won't be the last. Dan is almost a western version of Andy Taylor of Mayberry, and he has to deal with as similarly outrageous residents as we used to see in that North Carolina town. (I found only the local newspaper reporter to be annoying.) Since the story is told in third person and from Dan's point of view, he does a great deal of debating with himself and sometimes takes his good old Texas time coming to certain conclusions. Still, this series seems to have a good setting with some memorable characters, and I recommend spending time with them.