Great book!! Keep me guessing from start to finish. ( )

Having been introduced to Sheriff Dan Rhodes in Bill Crider's short story collection, THE NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME, I couldn't wait to encounter him in a full-length book. So I picked up MURDER AMONG THE OWLS (2007).

Police procedurals in which the protagonist is a sheriff have both similarities and differences with other varieties of this subgenre. First, although populous urban counties do have sheriffs (at least in my experience), those in mystery stories tend to be the sheriffs of thinly populated rural areas. Second, sheriffs are directly elected by the voters (again in my experience), not appointed or hired as are police chiefs and officers. So they must balance their desire to do a good job and catch criminals with the need to placate the voters. Sheriff Dan Rhodes is a good example.

When a cat turns up on their doorstep one morning, the Sheriff's wife recognizes it and sends him out to check on the cat's owner, a fellow member of the OWLS (a women's book group). Sure enough, the lady in question appears to have met with an accident while changing a lightbulb. But then who let her indoor cat out? Sheriff Rhodes is unwilling to take this "accident" at face value and begins investigating even before the medical examiner corroborates his suspicions. Throughout the book, we see instances where the Sheriff, a local boy, uses his knowledge of the townspeople and his (and his wife's) connections to advance his investigation.

There is plenty of humor in this story (particularly in the interactions of the visiting cat with Rhodes' dogs), but plenty of action as well. Suspects proliferate and everyone has something to hide until Sheriff Rhodes' observant nature gives him the final clue he needs to solve the murder. I must confess that I did guess the murderer, but not the motive. I wouldn't call this a fault, though -- I enjoy trying to guess "whodunnit" and relish my infrequent successes.

I see by the front of the book that I have quite a bit of catching up to do with Sheriff Rhodes and also with Mr. Crider's two academic mystery series (and I do love a good academic mystery). The lengthy list promises a lot of enjoyment. ( )

Reading the Dan Rhodes books by Bill Crider is always like a visit with a few old friends: comfortable, warm and friendly, people you know and like, familiar setting. If you're from Texas, it's even more familiar. This volume of the series has a few interesting twists, including an ownerless cat, a metal detector club, and a new understanding of women's clubs in small town America. Dan Rhodes is just one small man trying to understand and make his peace with the universe, and I find I like him a lot, and smile at his predilection for Dr. Pepper and cholesteral. ( )