2.5**

Caddo County (Texas) Sheriff Bo Handel may usually have enough drunks and petty criminals to deal with to keep busy, if laid back. But when the minister’s wife’s body is found in Reverend Twiller’s front yard, with three bullet holes in her back things escalate quickly. There are a plethora of suspects, including small-time criminals, bankers, lawyers, business owners, drug dealers (both Columbian and local), and at least one Mafia hit man.

I like Sheriff Bo Handel. I like his management style, his no-nonsense method of interrogating people, his relationship with his secretary, and his easy banter with other law enforcement types (i.e. FBI agents). Burton gives us a little of his back story, and hints of a romantic interest. I also like Burton’s way with words; one example - ”…a full head of heavily sprayed, ash-blond hair that swept up and backward so dramatically that it looked like the work of a moderately skilled taxidermist.”

If this makes it sound like this is a cozy mystery, that’s my fault. It is definitely NOT a cozy. There are some gristly scenes and serious killing going on here. In fact, I thought the plot got away from Burton. There were so many suspects and so many twists in the plot that I lost track of who was wanted for what. And it seemed that the poor initial victim was just lost in the body count. Now, I’m not so naïve as to think that real-life murders are always wrapped up nice and easy, but while Bo Handel and the FBI may have been satisfied with how things turned out I wasn’t.

That being said, and despite the 2.5 star rating I WOULD read another of Burton’s novels.

( )

Beauregard "Bo" Handel, sheriff for nearly thirty years of a small Texas town is used to small-town crimes. When the wife of the local Methodist preacher is killed and dumped in the front yard of the parsonage, Bo knows he is in for an unusual ride. Drugs, adultery, New Orleans mob-connected hit men - all combine to lead Handel and his staff of deputies n a convoluted and dangerous investigation, with a surprising conclusion.

Milton Burton delivers once again his customary treat of genuine Southern character and setting, skillful use of the language, and an appealing protagonist and supporting cast. I'm not sure why he is not more widely read - he surely deserves to be. ( )

I wish I had started the year with a better book, but this was ok. Sometimes the storyline became unclear, and sometimes there were too many characters introduced all at one time. So things became a bit confusing, unnecessarily. East Texas, good atmosphere, felt like small town Texas. I think the sheriff should have been a few years younger to be dancin' with Miss Carla. Not a series but could be I suppose. A dead minister's wife kicks it off, then moves quickly to a drug deal that has a lot of bad guys - you really need a scorecard. ( )