Bill Crider’s thirteenth Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery, A Mammoth Murder, may be my favorite in the series so far.That fight in the Round-Up restaurant may be one of the funniest scenes I’ve read.
When Bud Turley shows up at the Blacklin County sheriff’s department, he’s convinced he has an invaluable artifact that he wants Sheriff Dan Rhodes to lock-up to protect it overnight. He was hunting Bigfoot in the Big Woods, and swears he uncovered a tooth from the creature. And, he has a college professor coming to check it out.
Before the professor can show up, Rhodes is called to the Big Woods where a local man saw a dead man. The body belongs to Bud Turley’s best friend, Larry Colley. He wasn’t killed by the feral hogs who roam the woods. He was murdered by someone who was human. And, before Rhodes can investigate, the elderly owner of a local store is killed. Now, Rhodes and his deputy, Ruth Grady, have two murders on their hands. Of course, along with Bigfoot’s tooth.
Except the professor claims the tooth belongs to.a Columbian mammoth. It’s too late, though. Bud Turley has put it out on the Internet, and Bigfoot hunters from all over Texas show up to search the Big Woods. When Rhodes tells him the woods are on private property, he accidentally gets involved in a fight at the Round-Up.
As usual, Rhodes is caught up in all kinds of activities that might or might not be related to his murder investigations. The disappearance of a boy ten years earlier in those woods even comes back to haunt him. Then, there are the two authors determined to write a novel about a hot country sheriff. But, how does Bigfoot figure in the case?
As I said, A Mammoth Murder, may be my favorite so far, with the Bigfoot and Mammoth connections, the two authors, and, of course, all the familiar characters. But, a warning that has nothing to do with Bill Crider’s writing. The synopsis on the book flap is wrong, naming wrong characters in their roles. Don’t pay attention to the book flap. Instead, enjoy A Mammoth Murder.
Bill Crider’s webpage is https://www.billcrider.com/
A Mammoth Murder by Bill Crider. St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2006. ISBN 9780312323875 (hardcover), 263p.
FTC Full Disclosure – Library book
