SHOTGUN SATURDAY NIGHT

by Bill Crider ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 5, 1987

Likable, low-key Sheriff Dan Rhodes of Blacklin Co., Texas (Too Late to Die, 1986), makes an agreeable return appearance--in a case that shambles along a bit raggedly but eventually pulls together reasonably well. The mysteries begin when local handyman Bert Ramsey finds two boxes of dismembered human limbs on an abondoned farm. Then, by the time the Sheriff thinks he has that one figured out (illegal dumping by a city medical-researcher), things get more complicated--because Bert is found shotgunned to death at home. Could the murder be linked to the cache of limbs? Or was Bert mixed up with a motorcycle-gang of drug-dealers in the neighborhood? And what about Bert's romantic rivalry with one of the nasty cyclists? Sheriff Dan has to play rough with the bikers before all the answers--including a semi-surprising final twist--emerge. Luckily, his new girlfriend, 40-ish Ivy, turns out to be both fearless and proficient when it comes to cycle-chasing. (""Rhodes watched in amazement as Ivy walked over the nearest motorcycle, hiked her skirt up to her hips, and straddled it."") Minor doings--but lively, folksy, and unpretentiously atmospheric.

Pub Date: Oct. 5, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Walker

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1987

Categories: FICTION