"serious and funny mystery"
Usually the opening week of dear hunting season in Blanco
County, Texas is a bit wild but this year things get really
crazy the week before the season opens. Red O'Brien and
Billy Don Craddock are poaching on the tail end of the
Circle S Ranch when they spot some big dear. They shoot
but one of the deer they are aiming at is a human in
disguise and the other is jumping around like a kangaroo. Game Warden John Marlin is called onto the scene and
recognizes the bouncing deer as Buck who his best friend
Phil Colby raised as an infant. John gives Buck back to
Phil even though the deer technically belongs to the owner
of the Circle S, retired but still powerful lobbyist Roy
Swank. For some reason, Swank wants the deer back and will
go to any length to achieve that goal no matter who gets
hurt in the process. This first installment in this new mystery series is both
serious and funny, sometimes at the same time. The
protagonist plays straight man to all the eccentric
characters that make up the supporting cast, giving BUCK FEVER
an almost slapstick feel at times. The story line is well
developed with all the sub-plots tying seamlessly into the
main tale. Ben Rehder has a distinctively refreshing and
original voice, a bright new star in the mystery genre. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted August 9, 2002
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