Synopses & Reviews
Hayward is a sleepy Southwestern town full of cattle, trucks, and tumbleweeds. Virgil Daltons been the sheriff for over a dozen years and has lived there all his life. Its a place where everybody pretty much knows everybodybut they dont know each others secrets
Buddy Hinton is just a good ole boy. So when he disappears after a night drinking at the Black Bull, his friends just figure he went down to Mexico to find himself a girlfriend and eventually will come back. But this case quickly becomes a homicide after the sheriff discovers the missing man floating in one of his stock tanks.
For a man who wasnt known to have enemies, Buddy clearly upset someone. Figuring out who that was will require Virgil and his deputy, Jimmy, to retrace Buddys last stepsand to remain a step ahead of a murderer who may have no qualms about killing again
Review
Praise for Death at the Black Bull: “Move over, Walt Longmire. Theres a new sheriff in town. Virgil Dalton is the kind of character that comes along maybe once a decade—a classic Western hero and so much more. When youre done with Frank Hayes stellar debut, Death at the Black Bull, youll smell the sagebrush in the air and have to clean the dust off your boots. An absolute must-read for fans of Craig Johnson and Tony Hillerman.”—Reed Farrel Coleman, Shamus Award-winning author of The Hollow Girl
“This is one of the most impressive debut crime novels Ive ever read. Theres such depth and humanity in the characters, such tension in the story itself, and the sense of place is as good as it gets. I know Ill be reading every book in this series!”—Steve Hamilton, Edgar Award-winning author of Let It Burn
“Virgil Dalton takes no prisoners in Hayess satisfying debut novel, and fans of Craig Johnsons Walt Longmire will cheer the sheriffs desire to protect his town. With its strong sense of place, this series launch will also keep fans of Western mysteries enthralled.”—Library Journal
“Hayess strong debut introduces a complex and likable lawman…readers will want to see a lot more of Virgil and friends.”—Publishers Weekly
“Hayes is a skillful storyteller and a deft hand at witty dialogue.”—Booklist
Synopsis
The author of Death at the Black Bull returns to the Southwestern town of Haywood where the onset of winter ushers in a new mystery for Sheriff Virgil Dalton
Virgil knows that his sleepy hometown is starting to reflect the times, in good ways and bad. It still comes as a shock when his deputy is almost killed by the body of a woman falling from the highway overpass onto his car. A woman who had been fleeing for her life
Then longtime resident Velma Thompson is found dead on her porchher husband missing. To search for the man, Virgil saddles up and heads to the High Lonesome, the rugged mountains above their ranch. And on a wind-swept mesa, hell find the first clues that point to a killer whose body count has only just begun
About the Author
Frank Hayes is a high school teacher who has started a new career as a novelist. He lives and writes in New Yorks mid-Hudson River Valley. He is the author of the first Sheriff Virgil Dalton Mystery, Death at the Black Bull.