By James D. Doss
Minotaur Books, $24.99, 295 pages
A man walked into the office of the Chief of Police of Granite Creek, Colorado. He claimed he was going to be murdered in a little over a month. He doesn’t know who will kill him. Thus begins the tale. Filled with delicious plot twists and rascally characters, it is told in a manner as comfortable as old jeans.
Charlie Moon, cattle rancher and sometimes policeman, quietly accepts the wager proffered by the potential victim to keep him alive until after the alleged date of his demise. Charlie and his best friend, Chief of Police Scott Parris, devise a plan to protect the rich man from whatever varmints may threaten him. At the same time, subplots involving Charlie’s elderly and irascible Aunt Daisy intersect, sometimes violently, with the case.
James D. Doss is the author of fourteen previous Charlie Moon mysteries, two of which were among the Best Books of the Year named by Publishers Weekly. Seldom can a reader know right away if they will like a book. In the case of this novel, it is immediately apparent that this will be an immensely enjoyable read. Filled with old West slang and down-home humor, it is an amusing and intriguing tale from cover to cover.
Reviewed by Fran Byram
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