Synopses & Reviews
Life in rural Blanco County, Texas, isn't what most folks would call exciting---and that suits game warden John Marlin just fine. He's happy to spend his days and nights 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. Too much . . .
Luckily, every now and then an incident comes along to spice things up for a while. 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.
In the middle of it all, Marlin can't believe his luck when the strange goings-on put him in daily contact with a new member of the sheriff's department---beautiful deputy Nicole Brooks has just moved into the area and Marlin is just itching to show her around. He has to put his crush on the back burner, however, when events begin to spiral out of control in a way that's not altogether rare in recent Blanco County history. As the bullets start to fly and the bodies start to drop, talented, 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.
Review
"Imagine Carl Hiaasen with a Texas accent."--The Denver Post "As funny as it is suspenseful...well-paced, smartly plotted, full of memorable Hill Country denizens and crackling dialogue, this is diverting fun."--Publishers Weekly
"This series about Blanco County, Texas, game warden John Marlin keeps getting odder and funnier. Rehder has jumped to a new level, and Guilt Trip just might grab a chunk of the outsize Hiaasen crowd." --Booklist PRAISE FOR BEN REHDER AND
HIS BLANCO COUNTY MYTERIES
GUILT TRIP
"As memorable and funny as [Rehder's] previous titles."--Austin Chronicle
"Ben Rehder has found a way to keep the laughs coming even when the bodies start to litter the countryside of Blanco County, Texas. Lots of distinct characters ensure the novel never lags, and John Marlin is a happy combination of ecologist and eccentric."--Dallas Morning News
"Rating: A. Would I move to Blanco County? No, but I'm happy to visit."--Deadly Pleasures
"Rehder has jumped to a new level, and Guilt Trip just might grab a chunk of the outsize Hiaasen crowd."--Booklist
"You don't need an invite to the Bush ranch to have fun in Texas."--Chicago Tribune
"One of the genre's rising talents."--South Florida Sun-Sentinel
FLAT CRAZY
"Intriguing and entertaining. Rehder's characters may be outrageous, but they are never boring."--The Dallas Morning News
"Outrageous fun."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Flat Crazy is Texas at its twisted best. Ben Rehder throws open the gates, shoots his pistols in the air, and unleashes a stampede of comic madness."--Tim Cockey, author of Backstabber
"You'd have to be Flat Crazy to miss a Ben Rehder book. This guy is the funniest, freshest voice in Texas mystery writing today. His work stands out like a DayGlo parka in deer season."--Rick Riordan, author of Southtown
"Rehder's clever storytelling skills, his expert comic timing and flair for characters have made this series shine. Rehder doesn't just write niche mysteries, he's proving to be one of the genre's rising talents with his twisted tales."--South Florida Sun-Sentinel
BONE DRY
"An over-the-top-tale of sex, mayhem, and murder in Texas's Hill Country. Readers will get a wild ride."--Publishers Weekly
"You don't need an invite to the Bush ranch to have fun in Texas. Ben Rehder, whose Buck Fever earned him an Edgar nomination for best first mystery last year, is back."--Chicago Tribune
"More funny adventures of John Marlin, amiable, estimable game warden of Blanco County, Texas...[a]winning sequel to Buck Fever...characters to chuckle at, yes, but Rehder never forgets he's got clues to furnish and a story to tell."--Kirkus Reviews
"A humdinger. Funny, sardonic, and filled with clever metaphors and similes, Bone Dry is as cool and satisfying as a Lone Star beer on a hot Texas afternoon."--Sports Afield
"Lots of twists and turns and authentic police procedures...[a] fast-paced romp."
--San Antonio Express-News
"Weird, wild, and wacky. One of the funniest mysteries of the year. [This] fast-paced novel has a variety of peculiar plotlines that all converge in a wild and memorable ending. Rehder's first book was a finalist for the Edgar Award and the Lefty Award (for the funniest crime novel of the year). His latest effort is in the same category--it's a nifty, hilarious romp that's tough to put down."--Lansing State Journal
"Funny...much like Carl Hiaasen's gore-spattered howlers."--Field & Stream
"The pace of [Bone Dry] is steady and swift, the tone wry and playful."--Drood Review
"Take a novel about hunting, throw in some unforgettable characters, and add a dash of ribald humor."--Abilene Reporter-News
BUCK FEVER
"This fast-paced comic thriller comes with shooting distance of Hiaasen and Leonard territory...a promising debut."--Booklist
"This debut novel is a complete success. There's sure to be a long career for this wacky, happy series."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A hilarious debut. Buck Fever does for Texas what Hiaasen does for Florida."--Clues Unlimited
"A deserving, character-rich atmospheric crime novel that is deserving of the Edgar nomination."--Deadly Pleasures
"Imagine Carl Hiaasen with a Texas accent. Buck Fever is a laugh-filled riot."--Denver Post
"Briskly paced, amusing, spiced with deftly drawn good-old-boy portraits; an altogether promising debut."--Kirkus Reviews
"A wild and crazy first novel."--Library Journal (starred review)
Synopsis
The blackmail of a deviant Texas state senator and a pet psychic with big plans highlight Rehder's fourth hilarious novel in the Blanco County Mystery series.
Synopsis
Praise for Ben Rehder and the Blanco County mysteries
"One of the genre's rising talents."
---South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"Imagine Carl Hiaasen with a Texas accent."
---Denver Post
"You don't need an invite to the Bush ranch to have fun in Texas."
---Chicago Tribune
"Outrageous fun."
---Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Flat Crazy
"Intriguing and entertaining. Rehder's characters may be outrageous, but they are never boring."
---Dallas Morning News on Flat Crazy
"An over-the-top tale of sex, mayhem and murder in Texas's hill country. Readers will get a wild ride."
---Publishers Weekly on Bone Dry
"This fast-paced comic thriller comes within shooting distance of Hiaasen and Leonard territory."
---Booklist on Buck Fever
Synopsis
Praise for Ben Rehder and the Blanco County mysteries
“One of the genre’s rising talents.”
---South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Imagine Carl Hiaasen with a Texas accent.”
---Denver Post
“You don’t need an invite to the Bush ranch to have fun in Texas.”
---Chicago Tribune
“Outrageous fun.”
---Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Flat Crazy
“Intriguing and entertaining. Rehder’s characters may be outrageous, but they are never boring.”
---Dallas Morning News on Flat Crazy
“An over-the-top tale of sex, mayhem and murder in Texas’s hill country. Readers will get a wild ride.”
---Publishers Weekly on Bone Dry
“This fast-paced comic thriller comes within shooting distance of Hiaasen and Leonard territory.”
---Booklist on Buck Fever
Synopsis
Turkey season is in progress, former juvenile delinquent Lucas Burnett's house just exploded, and a Ford Explorer is floating downstream after a gullywasher. It's another ordinary day in Blanco County, Texas...
GUILT TRIP
Game warden John Marlin hopes that Burnett, a likeable kid, isn't found dead in his burned down house. But Marlin doesn't have the same warm fuzzy feelings about rancher Vance Scofield, who is missing after his SUV is found in the river. Scofield, a skirt-chasing SOB, is a "high fencer," a rancher who pens trophy bucks behind deer-proof fences which lazy hunters can bag for a fee. To Marlin it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Worse, a range war of sorts has erupted with the low-fence ranchers, and things are turning downright ugly. Of course Marlin still doesn't know about the X-rated pictures a blackmailer took of the state senator in cahoots with the high fencers...the scheme being hatched by two bumbling poachers...or the stolen red Corvette which may be the key to everything. What has caught his attention is the sheriff's department's pretty new deputy...
"As funny as it is suspenseful...well-paced, smartly plotted, full of memorable Hill Country denizens and crackling dialogue, this is diverting fun."
--Publishers Weekly
"This series about Blanco County, Texas, game warden John Marlin keeps getting odder and funnier. Rehder has jumped to a new level, and Guilt Trip just might grab a chunk of the outsize Hiaasen crowd."
--Booklist
Synopsis
Game warden John Marlin hopes that Burnett, a likeable kid, isn't found dead in his burned down house. But Marlin doesn't have the same warm fuzzy feelings about rancher Vance Scofield, who is missing after his SUV is found in the river. Scofield, a skirt-chasing SOB, is a "high fencer," a rancher who pens trophy bucks behind deer-proof fences which lazy hunters can bag for a fee. To Marlin it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Worse, a range war of sorts has erupted with the low-fence ranchers, and things are turning downright ugly. Of course Marlin still doesn't know about the X-rated pictures a blackmailer took of the state senator in cahoots with the high fencers...the scheme being hatched by two bumbling poachers...or the stolen red Corvette which may be the key to everything. What has caught his attention is the sheriff's department's pretty new deputy...
About the Author
BEN REHDER'S first Blanco County mystery,
Buck Fever, was nominated for the Edgar, Lefty, and Barry Awards.
Bone Dry, the second, was named by
Field & Stream as one of the most worthwhile reads of 2003. Ben's most recent,
Flat Crazy, was listed by
Kirkus Reviews as one of the best mysteries of 2004. He lives in Dripping Springs, Texas.
Visit his Web site at www.benrehder.com.