Dan Rhodes Series by Bill Crider
Dan Rhodes #1
Dan Rhodes #2
Dan Rhodes #7
Bill Crider - Dan Rhodes 07 - Murder Most Fowl
Bill Crider
Sheriff Dan Rhodes investigates a murder that may or may not be related to a recent wave of emu-rustling. For an officer of the law, Blacklin County, Texas, used to be pretty peaceful, but now, what with the emu-rustling, cockfights, and protests at the new Walmart store—not to mention murder—the sheriff has his hands full.Hit hard by the collapse of his little hardware store, Elijah Ward has taken to chaining himself to the Walmart doors and generally making a nuisance of himself. And when Lige's dead body turns up, floating down a river in a portable toilet, Rhodes finds he has quite a case to investigate. What was the connection between Lige and chickens? Lige and the Palm Club?And was he involved in the area's emu thefts? It seems that raising emus is a booming business, so much so that emu are being stolen left, right, and center by would-be emu ranchers with little respect for the law. From theft to murder, the local crime spree seems unstoppable. But with a little help from the computer foisted on him by aging deputies Hack and Lawton, plus some good old-fashioned detective work, Rhodes just may be able to straighten out his county.
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Dan Rhodes #8
Bill Crider - Dan Rhodes 08 - Winning Can Be Murder
Bill Crider
It's been a while since Sheriff Dan Rhodes' football days, but things haven't really changed, at least not with state playoffs coming up and excitement for the local high school team heating up to a fever pitch.But then coach Brady Meredith is found shot to death in his car, and his murder leads to troublesome rumors concerning illegal betting, black market steroids and the sheriff's old nemesis, a biker named Rapper, who has reappeared in Blacklin County.There are too many coincidences for Rhodes' comfort. Especially when another corpse makes it a second down for a killer determined to lead Sheriff Rhodes into a game of sudden death.
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Dan Rhodes #9
Bill Crider - Dan Rhodes 09 - Death by Accident
Bill Crider
Texas Sheriff Dan Rhodes' cases usually concern the bad boys of rural Blacklin County or the slightly wacky citizens who are causing trouble that tends to be funny rather than criminal. But although at first the dead man floating in the old swimming pool at the edge of town seems to have been an accident victim—a staggering drunk tumbling into the water—Rhodes and his small but colorful staff soon uncover murder.It's the second strange death in two weeks. The other was that of John West, killed when he blew up carrying a gasoline can across a field. But where was the Cherokee wagon John was carrying the gas to? And why is his widow so jaunty? West was a solid citizen; Pep Yeldell, the swimming pool decedent, was a man with many enemiesIn his quiet way, Rhodes goes about looking for a connection and a killer—a quest that takes Rhodes, no athlete now in spite of his wife's efforts to keep him on a diet of little meat and lots of greens, up a tree and puts him at the mercy of a vicious killer.
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Dan Rhodes #10
Ghost of a Chance
Bill Crider
The More Things Change . . ."Though nostalgic for the good old days, Sheriff Dan Rhodes of Blacklin County, Texas, knows that times may change, but people are still people, some good, some bad, and most things can be explained with a little common sense -- even the "ghost" haunting his jail. Could it be the same ghostly culprit looting the local cemetery? When Ty Berry, the president of one of two feuding historical societies, is found shot dead in a freshly dug grave, Rhodes decides the crime is of a more earthly nature. The outspoken head of the rival historical society becomes the second victim, putting Rhodes and his department on the trail of a double homicide, a small-time drug ring, a riot of loose emus, goats . . . and of course, one irascible ghost. With his folksy manner and steel-trap mind, Rhodes proves once again that the human condition is an unchangeable as greed, desperation and murder.**
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Dan Rhodes #11
A Romantic Way to Die
Bill Crider
Dan Rhodes, the sheriff of Blacklin County, Texas, has seen more than his share of strange events during his time in office-most recently he exorcised a ghost from the county jail and he has always tolerated the banter between his elderly jailer and dispatcher. However, not even Hack and Lawton's friendly word play could have prepared him for the group of writers that have descended upon Blacklin County. When Vernell Lindsey, Clearview's newly published romance novelist, decides to hold a romance writer's convention, residents think this will finally get their town on the map. They are even more excited when they learn that former Clearview resident Terry Don Coslin will headline the event-Terry Don is now the most sought after male cover model for these very novels. Rhodes doesn't understand why so many people are interested in writing, but this becomes the least of his concerns when a local aspiring novelist is found dead in her room at the college. Was her death the work of a jealous rival? Or did her new book get a bit too close to certain people's real lives? As he investigates, Rhodes begins to learn more about the publishing industry and some sordid facts Terry Don. Is he at all connected to the murder? When another murder occurs, Rhodes receives the unwelcome aid of two aspiring novelists, eager to switch from romance to mysteries. Their theories are a little too far from the truth, but Rhodes does make some headway on his own. Relying on his trademark common sense and cunning and the help of his deputy sheriff Ruth Grady, Rhodes is able to solve the murders although he still can't figure out why so many people want to write a novel. **
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Dan Rhodes #12
Red, White, and Blue Murder
Bill Crider
An Anthony Award-winning AuthorThere hasn't been any rain to speak of in Sheriff Dan Rhodes's Texas county for nearly two months. Rhodes does see a good side, though: He hasn't had to mow his yard in weeks, and the coming Fourth of July fireworks have been canceled. Besides, one spark in the wrong place in this weather, and the whole county could go up in flames. Although the county survives, a wooden shack does burn to the ground with the owner's body inside -- and not even a sparkler was anywhere near the premises.
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Dan Rhodes #15
Of All Sad Words
Bill Crider
Strangers are moving into Blacklin County, and none of them is any stranger than Seepy Benton, a math teacher whom the county judge suspects is a wild-eyed radical. Benton and Max Schwartz, who has opened a music store, are among the students in the Citizens’ Sheriff’s Academy, which seemed like a good idea when Sheriff Dan Rhodes presented it to the county commissioners. However, when a mobile home explodes and a dead body is found, the students become the chief suspects, and the commissioners aren’t happy. To make matters worse, there’s another murder, and one of Rhodes’s old antagonists returns with his partner in crime to cause even more trouble. As always in Blacklin County, there are plenty of minor annoyances to go along with the major ones. For one thing, there’s a problem with the county’s Web page. The commissioners blame Rhodes, who knows nothing about the Internet but is supposed to be overseeing their online presence. Then there’s the illegal alcohol being sold in a local restaurant. It was produced in a still that Rhodes discovered after the explosion of the mobile home, and he’s sure it has some connection to the murders. It’s another fun ride with genre veteran Bill Crider, and, once again, it’s up to Sheriff Dan Rhodes to save the day before Blacklin County becomes the crime capital of Texas.
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Dan Rhodes #18
The Wild Hog Murders
Bill Crider
Like most of the rest of Texas, Blacklin County is being overrun with feral hogs that destroy farmland and crops. There’s hardly any defense against these pests, but they haven’t been the cause of murder. Until now. A mother and son have opened an animal shelter in the county and they welcome even feral hogs. Someone’s threatened them by slaughtering one of their animals and leaving it on their doorstep. Then Sheriff Dan Rhodes and Deputy Ruth Grady stumble across a dead man while searching the woods for a convenience store robber.The investigation into the man’s death is complicated by angry hog hunters, a crusading talk-show host, a bounty hunter named Hoss, conflicts with the county commissioners, and the reappearance of Rapper and Nellie, the inept two-man motorcycle gang that’s caused Rhodes considerable trouble in the past. By the time he’s sorted through all the clues, Rhodes discovers that quite a few people aren’t who they seemed to be, including those he’s known for a long time. And some of them are killers.Award-winning author Bill Crider has written an endearing and consistently entertaining series, and The Wild Hog Murders offers a fresh new chance to get in on the fun.
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Dan Rhodes #20
Bill Crider - Dan Rhodes 20 - Compound Murder
Bill Crider
Before classes start one morning, the body of English instructor Earl Wellington is found outside the building of the community college. Wellington was clearly involved in a struggle with someone and has died as a result. Sheriff Dan Rhodes pursues and arrests Ike Terrell, a student who was fleeing the campus. Ike's father is Able Terrell, a survivalist who has withdrawn from society and lives in a gated compound. He’s not happy that his son has chosen to attend the college, and he's even less happy with the arrest.Rhodes discovers that Wellington and Ike had had a confrontation over a paper that Wellington insisted Ike plagiarized. Wellington also had had a confrontation with the dean and was generally disliked by the students. As the number of suspects increases, it’s up to Rhodes to solve the murder while also dealing with an amusing but frustrating staff, a professor who wants to be a cop, and all the other normal occurrences that can wreak havoc in a small town.
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