Showing Bone Dry by Ben Rehder

Edgar Award finalist Ben Rehder's Blanco County comic mysteries have made best-of-the-year lists in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Field & Stream.

Bone Dry:
Life can get a little wild from time to time for John Marlin, the game warden in Blanco County, Texas—but few incidents compare to the stories flying around town at the start of this new deer season. Hunters are reporting an incredible sight: a six-foot-tall, drop-dead gorgeous blonde is roaming the woods, searching out camouflage-clad men with guns and disarming them with powers of seduction the likes of which none of them have ever come across before. Everyone has a hearty laugh at the expense of a few embarrassed hunters, until one of their own turns up dead in the woods. Now Marlin has a real mystery to deal with. Meanwhile, rumors are spreading about a new Blanco resident, an ex-New Yorker named Sal Mameli who's ruffling feathers with his loud mouth and his penchant for getting his own way, no matter what the cost. Before long, John Marlin realizes he may be the only sane man in town, and he's starting to wonder if he can last much longer himself. It's just the start of another unforgettable hunting season in Bone Dry, the hilarious second novel from Edgar finalist Ben Rehder.

REVIEWS FOR BONE DRY:

“You don’t need an invite to the Bush ranch to have fun in Texas. Ben Rehder, whose Buck Fever earned him an Edgar nomination for best first mystery last year, is back…” —Chicago Tribune

“More funny adventures of John Marlin, amiable, estimable game warden of Blanco County, Texas. Opening Day of the deer-hunting season is always a time of test and turmoil for Marlin, but in this winning sequel to Buck Fever (2002) he finds himself particularly beset. Characters to chuckle at, yes, but Rehder never forgets he’s got clues to furnish and a story to tell.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Fans of Rehder’s rollicking debut, Buck Fever (2002), which was nominated for both Edgar and Lefty awards, will welcome the sequel, an over-the-top tale of sex, mayhem and murder in Texas’s hill country.” —Publishers Weekly

“…a humdinger. Funny, sardonic, and filled with clever metaphors and similes, Bone Dry is as cool and satisfying as a Lone Star beer on a hot Texas afternoon.” —Sports Afield

“Rehder’s books are readable for their portrayals of over-the-top Texans who still live life the old-fashioned way: fat, drunk and stupid. Bone Dry…would make a nice read in the deer blind on opening morning.” —Mike Leggett, Austin American-Statesman

“Lots of twists and turns and authentic police procedures…[a] fast-paced romp.” —San Antonio Express-News

“…weird, wild and wacky…one of the funniest mysteries of the year…[this] fast-paced novel has a variety of peculiar plotlines that all converge in a wild and memorable ending. Rehder’s first book was a finalist for the Edgar Award and the Lefty Award (for the funniest crime novel of the year). His latest effort is in the same category–it’s a nifty, hilarious romp that’s tough to put down.” —Lansing State Journal