Previous Novels
| Click one of the books below to read a synopsis. | ||||
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Gun Shy
The National Weapons Alliance rally in support of every American's right to bear arms is meant to garner huge publicity. And the host of the event is none other than the NWA's newest spokesman, handsome country-music superstar Mitch Campbell. What nobody suspects is that the Stetson-wearing, gun-toting, bull-riding Campbell is a fraud. He’s really Norman Kleinschmidt, a pill-popping, snowboarding, former rock-and-roller from Vermont. To Campbell’s dismay, someone from his past is about to make that secret a big, big problem.
Guilt Trip
Life has been quiet lately in rural Blanco County, Texas—and that suits game warden John Marlin just fine. He's happy to spend his time protecting the local wildlife from poachers and the poachers from the local wildlife. There may be a shortage of attractive single women in town, a source of some frustration to Marlin over the years, but he's never really let it bother him. Luckily, every now and then an incident comes along to spice things up. 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 big flood, Marlin knows he's found his latest distraction. At nearly the same time, a house down the road explodes in a shower of drug paraphernalia, and an exotic car turns up stolen from the missing man's barn. Marlin and good friend Sheriff Bobby Garza are soon overwhelmed, trying to figure out how everything connects together. As the bullets start to fly and the bodies start to drop, talented, 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.
Flat Crazy
Some kind of unidentified wild creature is on the loose in Blanco County, and, over the protests of game warden John Marlin, the locals have convinced themselves they're dealing with a mythical vampirish beast called a chupacabra. Of course it doesn't help Marlin's cause when a dead body turns up with a suspicious fang-like wound in its neck. Then things really get out of hand: tabloid news programs invade Blanco, good ol' boys Red O'Brien and Billy Don Craddock develop a cockamamie get-rich-quick scheme involving the animal, and everyone is a little surprised at the booming population of voluptuous Chinese dwarves who've turned up in town. If anyone can make sense of the strange events, it's John Marlin, who's well-versed in the intricacies of small-town life, Texas style. But can he do it before another body turns up?
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.
Buck Fever
Blanco County, Texas: It's the week before deer hunting season, as close to a statewide holiday as you get in Texas, and the locals are getting restless. Game Warden John Marlin has his hands full with poaching complaints coming in faster than he can write out-of-season tickets. Then a call of a different sort comes in. A man dressed up in some sort of deer costume has been shot at the Circle S ranch, and witnesses are reporting a massive wild-eyed buck prancing about the pasture in a lovesick frenzy. Marlin's seen a lot in his years, but this is wilder than he could have imagined: the man in the deer suit is a good friend, and the whacked-out whitetail isn't exactly a stranger either. It's the beginning of a mad, frantic weekend in Blanco County, one that will see a few more men shot, an invasion by Colombians with more than hunting on their minds, and damn near the end of Marlin's life. Ben Rehder serves it all up with a huge helping of humor in this debut comic mystery that will firmly establish him as the funniest crime writer in Texas.