When rereading an older series, a few things jumped out at me. I’ll talk about them at the conclusion. But, the first thing is, Bill Crider’s Sheriff Dan Rhodes mysteries are timeless, although Shotgun Saturday Night was written in 2013. The series hasn’t lost its charm or humor, and it doesn’t depend on contemporary cultural references for the storyline. In fact, Sheriff Rhodes is a fan of old movies and westerns. There are some series authors that could learn a lot from reading Bill Crider’s works.

Bert Ramsey does odd jobs around Blacklin County, Texas, but it is surprising when he comes into the jail, and lays an arm on the desk. Then, he says there’s another one, and two legs in the truck, but they don’t belong to the same people. When Bert was clearing property owned by absentee owners in Houston, he found three boxes of arms and legs. And, they weren’t there the day before. Sheriff Rhodes has a whole mess on his hands, and Clyde Ballinger at Ballinger’s Funeral Home isn’t very helpful.

Although Bert brought the body parts to the jail, Sheriff Rhodes was as shocked as everyone else when someone killed Ramsey with a shotgun on Saturday night. A tattoo on Bert’s body reveals he was once a member of a violent motorcycle gang, Los Muertos, and members of the gang show up in Blacklin County. Murder, motorcyclists, marijuana, and the DEA are issues Rhodes usually doesn’t deal with in his day-to-day work of changing light bulbs or herding loose cattle for the community.

Each time I read a Dan Rhodes mystery, I notice something new. Poor Sheriff Rhodes is the subject of a great deal of physical violence in these books, but he’s no superhero who recovers instantly. He’s sore and injured, and he recognizes it. There’s more reason to feel sympathy for him than for many protagonists who seem to recover quickly. And, he makes mistakes, taking on jobs singlehandedly when he should ask for backup.

Speaking of backup, in this second book, Rhodes has hired a female deputy, Ruth Grady, and it shakes up the men at the jail. Hack and Lawton don’t approve of a female deputy, but Ruth is skilled at getting around them, and getting them on her side. Then, there’s Ivy Daniel. Rhodes is old-fashioned, and he’s courting Ivy. He has old-fashioned views of women, and he’s shocked to learn Ivy can ride a motorcycle, and she’s proficient at it, giving chase to the motorcyclists at one point. Crider makes a point of forcing Rhodes and his team to adjust their views of women. It’s obvious that Crider admires women, and knows they are capable of more than they’re given credit for.

The other day, a reader said Bill Crider should have been honored as a Grand Master before he died. Shotgun Saturday Night, only the second in the Dan Rhodes series, is entertaining and skillfully written. Unfortunately, entertaining mystery writers are often overlooked when it comes to awards. It’s a shame.

Shotgun Saturday Night by Bill Crider. Kindle edition, 2013.


FTC Full Disclosure – I bought the Kindle edition.