Synopses & Reviews
Blanco County, Texas.
It's one week before the start of deer hunting season, and everyone in town has come down
with a case of...
Buck Fever
The fury begins with Red O'Brien and Billy Don Craddock, two drunken poachers who fire a shot in the direction of Blanco County's most important resident: a wide-eyed, white-tailed deer named Buck who lives on the Circle S ranch. Now Buck is on the loose, and no one knows where to find him: not Trey Sweeney, the man who took the bullet meant for Buck, albeit right in the flank of his own deer costume; not Tim Gray, the veterinarian who can't function very long without popping a few canine tranquilizers; and especially not Roy Swank, owner of the Circle S, who wants desperately to find Buck for reasons no one can quite understand. Navigating all this turmoil is Blanco County Game Warden John Marlin, with a little help from his best friend Phil and a beautiful nurse named Becky who seems too good to be true. But when a dead body turns up, the real mystery in madcap Blanco County soon boils down to a single question: Just who is hunting whom?
Review
"A laugh-filled riot¿imagine Carl Hiaasen with a Texas accent."--
Denver Post"A complete success...there's sure to be a long career for this happy, wacky series."--Publishers Weekly
"Too fun to be legal."--Mike Shea, Texas Monthly Online
"This is a wild and crazy first novel, crowded with weird people, unusual relationships (both animal and human), and frequent humor that will appeal to fans of Carl Hiaasen, Tim Dorsey, and other comic mystery writers. Strongly recommended."--Library Journal (starred review)
"Briskly paced, amusing, spiced with deftly drawn good-old-boy portraits: an altogether promising debut."--Kirkus Reviews
"Buck Fever is a dripping-cold long-neck and a smoldering pile of spent double-aught shells. This one slithers, shakes and strikes like a diamondback. Don't miss it."--Tim Dorsey, author of Florida Roadkill and Triggerfish Twist
"[A] promising debut...comes within shooting distance of Hiaasen and Leonard territory."--Booklist
"A funny, nightmarish tale from the Texas Hill Country, where being a game warden might be harder than being a cop."--Jamie Harrison, author of Blue Deer Thaw
"Ben Rehder's Buck Fever is absolutely the epitome of hunting camp jabber. I was going to write a book exactly like this, then he stole the idea and beat me to the printer."--TJ Greaney, The Outdoor Zone Radio Show
About the Author
Ben Rehder is an avid hunter and outdoorsman who lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife Becky.
Buck Fever, named one of
Publishers Weekly's Best Mysteries of 2002, is his first novel.