I had several reasons to read James C. Work’s fourth Ranger McIntyre mystery. Ranger McIntyre: The Dunraven Hoard Murders includes some background about Lord Dunraven, who owned the village of Adare, Ireland, where we stayed when we were there, so it caught my attention. It was one of my picks to review for a journal. However, in the long run, the most interesting part of the entire book was about a car built in the 1920s in Indianapolis, the Marmon. In other words, I was disappointed.

Ranger Timothy McIntyre is supposed to have a two week vacation from his job at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. But, when a frat boy is found dead in the park, his boss and the Denver office of the FBI ask him to take some time to investigate. It seems the son of a wealthy, influential man, William Leap, suspects he was the target of a killer, so Leap pulls strings to ask McIntyre to check out the scene. He teams up with Vi Coteau, executive administrative secretary to Agent A.T. Canilly of the Denver office of the FBI. McIntyre spends quite a bit of time wondering where Vi hides her gun, and worrying about what she’ll think of his cabin.

As McIntyre investigates, two men pop up time and again at closed mine sites in the park. One is an engineer who says he’s inspecting deserted mines, and the other is salvaging metal. When a second frat boy is killed, the ranger is not surprised to find the two at the crime scene again.

McIntyre tells Vi he sees his investigations as puzzles. While she’s having an adventure, and loves it, he lives for the puzzles. Why did three frat boys leave college and check old material at the Denver Public Library? Why are they searching for the rumored unknown treasures left behind when Lord Dunraven and his staff closed his hotel in 1879? The hotel burned down in 1911. Now, over ten years later, the stories are still attracting treasure hunters. But, McIntyre wants to know the motive for the murders.

Work’s Ranger McIntyre: The Dunraven Hoard Murders is leisurely paced. Even with three murders by the end of the book, no one seems in a hurry, except Vi. Perhaps that’s because it’s set in a national park after the season is over, and it’s the 1920s. There doesn’t seem to be any rush. While McIntyre is intrigued by the puzzle, he seems more intrigued with Vi and when he’s getting his next meal. None of the victims are well-developed characters. In fact, we know only that they were bullies and friends who went treasure-hunting. It actually became pretty easy to start wondering where Vi carries her gun, and what does her car, a Marmon, look like. Check out the Marmon online. It’s a gorgeous car. That’s the most interesting aspect of this book.

Ranger McIntyre: The Dunraven Hoard Murders by James C. Work. Five Star/Gale. 2020. ISBN 9781432859480 (hardcover), 249p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – I received the book to review for a journal.