Showing Guilt Trip 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.

Guilt Trip:
Life in rural Blanco County, Texas, isn't what most folks would call exciting—and that suits game warden John Marlin just fine. He's happy to spend his days and nights protecting the local wildlife from poachers. But when the tequila-slamming, skirt-chasing treasurer of the local Rotary Club goes missing and his vehicle is found in the river the day after a flood, Marlin finds himself in charge of the search efforts. At nearly the same time, a nearby house explodes in a shower of drug paraphernalia, and an exotic car turns up stolen from the missing man's barn. Marlin and Sheriff Bobby Garza are soon overwhelmed, trying to figure out how everything connects together. It isn’t long before events begin to spiral out of control. Edgar Award-nominated author Ben Rehder keeps the plot moving and the laughs coming in another spectacularly funny crime novel straight out of the zaniest imagination in Texas.

REVIEWS FOR GUILT TRIP:

“Guilt Trip is the fourth in Mr. Rehder’s well-received Blanco County mystery series. He uncorks his latest story, which involves murder and a Texas state senator, using a cast of quirky but believable characters and a crisp, wry writing style.” —Dallas Morning News

“This series about Blanco County, Texas, game warden John Marlin keeps getting odder and funnier…But one thing’s for sure: Rehder has jumped to a new level, and Guilt Trip just might grab a chunk of the outsize Hiaasen crowd.” —Booklist

“As funny as it is suspenseful…Well-paced, smartly plotted, full of memorable Hill Country denizens and crackling dialogue, this is diverting fun.” —Publishers Weekly

“Ben Rehder has found a way to keep the laughs coming even when bodies start to litter the countryside of Blanco County, Texas…Lots of distinct characters ensure that the novel never lags, and John Marlin is a happy combination of ecologist and eccentric.” —Dallas Morning News

“Rehder has a special talent for creating idiosyncratic characters and putting them in outlandish situations…Rehder’s still on a roll with Guilt Trip. I liked it very much, and recommend it to anyone seeking a light-hearted read.” —Davis Enterprise

“…the regional flavor of Hiaasen and the strong story elements of Westlake, with laugh-out-loud moments leavening the strangeness of life…Guilt Trip is a hoot and a holler of a mystery.” —Flint Journal