Sylvester Bradshaw owns the Bouree restaurant, home of the best catfish within a hundred miles of Brenham, Texas. Besides being known for his cooking and for being one of the town’s nastiest residents, he also happens to have invented a machine that several venture capitalists and one former NFL star would like to invest in at almost any cost. But Bradshaw---stubborn and miserly---can’t be enticed no matter what offer they put on the table. Nobody gets a look and nobody gets to know how the device works, not even his family.
When the restaurant is ransacked and he goes missing, the only person willing to take his disappearance seriously is Jeremiah Spur. The retired Texas Ranger and rancher is a dedicated customer, if not a friend, which makes him the only man on whom the Bradshaws can pin their hopes.
James Hime’s Where Armadillos Go to Die eloquently captures the voice and spirit of a small Texas town with troubles every bit as big as the whole state, making for some of the most engaging crime fiction on bookshelves today.
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Advanced Praise for Where Armadillos Go to Die
“Jim Hime does for Texas what Pelecanos does for Washington, makes it live and breathe. Jeremiah Spur, retired Ranger, a part pitch-perfect for Tommy Lee Jones, slow-burns off the page till he literally blisters into your heart.”
---Ken Bruen, author of London Boulevard
“A small-town story of a too-big idea. A Texas tale of good green turned to greed. And a would-be American tragedy averted---thanks to Jeremiah Spur. It’s a comfort to know James Hime is back---and that Spur is still on duty.”
---Theresa Schwegel, Edgar Award-winning author of Last Known Address
“Set a chair up in that wide spot in the road and put your feet up. You’re about to enjoy the pitch-perfect magic of James Hime, that raconteur from the Birthplace of Texas where red-blooded, catfish-loving characters meet high-tech greed. Where Armadillos Go to Die, the third in the Jeremiah Spur series, is a shot of pure black coffee straight to the vein.”
---Louise Ure, Shamus Award--winning author of Liars Anonymous
“Beautiful writing, memorable characters, seamless dialogue, and a timely and original story, tough and gritty as a Texas landscape, Jim Hime writes with a careful touch, an original voice, and unexpected tenderness. A gem.”
---Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha-winning author of Air Time
“Rarely, we pick up a mystery where the setting is pleasingly unfamiliar, the plot is rewardingly intricate, the characters walk and talk as big as life, and where the whole book, line by line, is written, not typed or input or dictated. Such a book is James Hime’s Where Armadillos Go to Die. You can’t call Armadillos a romp because the whole damned thing reads like a victory lap around nearby Thunderhill Raceway.”
---Hershel Parker, author of Melville
Praise for Scared Money
“Grade: A. James Hime’s novels are as Texas as a squashed armadillo by the side of the road, but lots more fun. His second, fast-paced whodunit . . . speaks with a twang and brings a sleepy place called Brenham to life.”
---Rocky Mountain News
“Hime sets ’em up and knocks ’em down with élan in this edgy thriller sophisticated enough to sprawl from the cafés of Vienna to the alleys of Brenham without skipping a beat.”
---Texas Monthly
Praise for The Night of the Dance
“Colorfully written and marked by a compassionate knowledge of how small towns operate, Mr. Hime’s debut novel is enjoyable and exciting.”
---The Dallas Morning News
“Terrific---that’s what this book is.”
---The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
“There’s a new sheriff in town when it comes to Texas crime writing, and his name is James Hime.”
---Harlan Coben
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
fast-paced investigative tale,
This review is from: Where Armadillos Go to Die (Jeremiah Spur Mysteries) (Hardcover)
He may be the most hated person in Brenham, Texas due to his mean spirited racism, but his restaurant Bouree is also the most popular. No one makes catfish like Sylvester Bradshaw can. His repeat customers come for the great food and not for the small talk; just the way nasty Bradshaw prefers it.
Sylvester has invented a gizmo that people want a piece of the action, but he tells everyone to stick it up their butt. When he vanishes Sheriff Dewey Sharpe thinks nothing of it as he has personal problems dealing with erectile dysfunction that is more important to him than some ignoramus disappearing. Former Texas Ranger Jeremiah Spur learns that the man's office was invaded and torn apart, he becomes concerned. However, when Bradshaw's worried daughter asks him to investigate he agrees as he hopes an inquiry will help him reduce his worry over his hospitalized wife Martha suffering from E. coli food poisoning and besides he may be the only pal of rhe ornery Sylvester. This is a fast-paced investigative tale as Texans prove tougher than E. coli. The story line is fast-paced from the onset and never slows down from the moment that Sylvester's wife calls her daughter to tell her he never came home. Over the top of Guadalupe Peak, Where Armadillos Go to Die is an enjoyable thriller due to a wacky eccentric cast and a wonderful retired hero (see Scared Money and The Night of the Dance) who still has his moxie, Texas style. Harriet Klausner
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jeremiah Spur is Back,
By
This review is from: Where Armadillos Go to Die (Jeremiah Spur Mysteries) (Hardcover)
James Hime brings back retired Texas Ranger Jeremiah Spur and puts him right in the middle of murder, corporate espionage, his wife's serious and partly unexplained illness, a redneck family, and a star football player's family. Amazingly he brings all these components together and forms them into a highly readable story.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Everybody playing everybody else to get an advantage.",
By Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Where Armadillos Go to Die (Jeremiah Spur Mysteries) (Hardcover)
What begins as a disappearance in a small Texas town grows into a compelling thriller as ex-Ranger Jeremiah Spurs undertakes an unofficial investigation for the daughter of a missing man. Although he is understandably distracted by his wife's hospitalization for an E. coli infection, Jeremiah has no objection to filling the downtime waiting for Martha's recovery by assisting Sylvester Bradshaw's daughter. Bradshaw has been missing since her closed his restaurant, the last one on the premises, counting the evening's take in privacy. Famous for his fried catfish, Bradshaw credits his success to a secret invention, a process that has extensive ramifications for general use. Even though the word is out that Sylvester is on to something important, Bradshaw is extremely paranoid, determined to control his invention and protect his interests. Since Sylvester has few friends and many enemies, there is no shortage of suspects, from a Huston lawyer whose daughter has also been hospitalized for E. coli, to a local big shot, ex-NFL star and toaster oven spokesman Big Ty Daniels, who badly needs another product to hype. Then there are the venture capitalists eager to get a piece of Bradshaw's action. In fact, this small Texas town is unusually busy. Besides Bradshaw's disappearance, there has been a spectacular car chase and crash when Little Ty- a current star on the football field- rolls the family Hummer, capturing the interest of local law enforcement. Politics meets fame as the conscientious District Attorney Sonya Nichols tries to accommodate the local football coach while holding Little Ty and his friends accountable for their behavior. Filled with sly humor and a broad perspective of human nature, Hime has his finger directly on the pulse of a small town in Texas with a home-grown football hero. While Daniels and his clan live like kings within their ostentatious compound, a darker drama plays out for the Bradshaw's. Sylvester is still missing and his sons are anxious that their opportunity doesn't slip away. For all the charm of these good old boys, menace is afoot and the profiteers are waiting to pounce. The cast of characters is random and eccentric, a sheriff whose personal life casts doubt on his professional performance, a PI in possession of damaging evidence with a strong craving a for financial stability, the patient Martha, Jeremiah's wife, and Martha's ageing physician, who may be losing significant portions of his memory and possibly his skills. This novel is pure Texas, the people, environment, larger-than-life personalities and football-worshiping citizens who take their sports heroes seriously. From the curmudgeonly Bradshaw and his raging paranoia to the desperation of Daniels' son, Isaac, searching for the next high-profile product, this novel seduces with humor and charm but doesn't shirk from a sucker punch in the name of avarice. Hime brilliantly casts his characters on a broad stage in a thriller that rocks from the first chapter to the last. Luan Gaines/2009.
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