THE CONTRARY BLUES

by John Billheimer ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 17, 1998

Ever since a misplaced decimal point led the Department of Transportation to send Contrary, West Virginia, funding for twenty city buses instead of two--and to continue providing operating subsidies at that inflated level for four years--things have been looking up in the little coal town. Purvis Atkins, Contrary's mayor, has been diverting the windfall to a city health clinic, Meals on Wheels, and so many other worthy civic enterprises that when the scandal eventually comes out, a Wall Street Journal editorial comes down on Contrary's side. But there's a downside to the whole arrangement, too (even if you don't count massive taxpayer fraud): the suspiciously timely death of Transportation auditor Dwight Armitrage, followed by the intrigue that engulfs his straight-arrow successor Owen Allison, who finds himself drawn first into the bed of the bus system's comptroller, Mary Beth Hobbs, who just happens to be the mayor's sister; then into a coverup of the scam; and finally into a case of murder when a local crank who tries to divert the gravy train in his own direction gets himself killed by one of his hundred-plus enemies, and the cops come looking for Owen--and the only person who'll stand up for him is his highly inconvenient ex-wife. Billheimer seasons his debut with quiet humor, warmly appealing characters, and enough inventive plot twists to make a Contrarian out of straighter arrows than Owen.

Pub Date: June 17, 1998

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 256

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1998

Categories: FICTION