Texas ReadsGlenn Dromgoole
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Small-town sheriff has another murder to solve
Dead, to Begin With is the intriguing title of Bill Crider’s latest murder mystery starring Clearview sheriff Dan Rhodes (Minotaur Books, $25.99 hardcover).
Crider always works in a murder, of course, to enliven the routine of a small-town sheriff’s other duties, such as persuading a woman not to take a sledgehammer to the beauty shop where she felt she got a bad haircut, or breaking up a fight at a garage sale over an undervalued baseball card, or relieving a traffic jam by helping a chicken cross the road.
The death of a wealthy patron who is trying to restore the town’s abandoned theater seems at first to have been an accident. But as Sheriff Rhodes and his ghost-busting professor buddy Seepy Benton dig deeper, the plot thickens.
If you like a murder mystery that isn’t too dark, pick up one of Bill Crider’s tales featuring Sheriff Dan Rhodes. Dead, to Begin With, the twenty-fourth in the series, goes on sale Tuesday.
Bonnie Parker: The Roaring Twenties come to life in Jenni L. Walsh’s debut novel, Becoming Bonnie (Tom Doherty, $25.99 hardcover), a fictional tale about Bonnie Parker’s life before she became forever linked with Clyde Barrow as the notorious outlaw duo Bonnie and Clyde.
Walsh, who lives near Philadelphia, admits that she took plenty of liberties in tracing “Saint Bonnelyn” from devout church choir singer living on the edge of poverty to speakeasy bartender and jazz entertainer. When Clyde Barrow comes into the picture, Bonnie’s life will never be the same.
In a note at the end of the book, the author separates fact and fiction. Read more at jennilwalsh.com. A sequel, Being Bonnie, is due next summer.
New Adult fiction: Don’t confuse New Adult fiction with Young Adult fiction. Young Adult fiction typically involves teenage characters and teen topics. New Adult fiction is for college age and older and is more about sex. At least that’s my take after reading I See You (William Morrow, $14.99 paperback) and several other New Adult novels by Texas author Molly McAdams.
When usually responsible college senior Aurora Wilde decided to have a wild night on the town at a fraternity on a nearby campus, she couldn’t have anticipated the consequences a year later. She didn’t get pregnant or anything like that, but the intense, anonymous one-night stand was one she could never forget.
Bouncing back, she finds a dear love in a new boyfriend who obviously adores her, although his mother goes to extremes to berate and abuse her and drive her away. In the back of Aurora’s mind, however, is “Jay,” to whom she gave not only her body but her soul.
When “Jay” unexpectedly shows up at a family gathering — and it turns out he has been deeply touched by his one night with Aurora as well — Aurora’s world is turned upside down.
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Glenn Dromgoole’s latest book is West Texas StoriesContact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.
>> Check out his previous Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Literary Life
Texas RITA award winners 2017: CORRECTION
In last week’s news briefs, we incorrectly reported the award category for Texas author Weina Dai Randel. The correct information appears below. We regret the error.
Mainstream Fiction with a Central Romance
The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel
Sourcebooks, Landmark
Shana Drehs and Anna Michels, editors
Weina Dai Randel was born in China and grew up there. She came to the U.S. when she was 24 and has lived here more than 15 years. She received an M.A. in English from Texas Woman’s University in Denton. She lives in Flower Mound.
Redhook
Paperback, 978-0-3165-0537-6, (also available as an e-book, an audiobook, and on Audible), 416 pgs., $15.99
June 27, 2017
SPOILER ALERT: Badlands is the third book in a trilogy. Proceed at your own risk.
Laura Kindle (previously Laura Elliston, originally Dr. Catherine Bennett)is on the run again from the law, Pinkertons, and bounty hunters, after the arrest of her husband, William Kindle. She and St. Louis madam Rosemond Barclay, who claims to be helping Laura at William’s behest, wash up practically penniless in the quintessential Western boomtown of Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. Rosemond is determined to go legit, joining proper society and leaving her past behind; Laura waits to hear news of William’s court martial, creating yet another identity in another new place. But the past catches up to both women, and Laura knows she must finally confront the New York murder charge against her or forever be a dependent pawn in other people’s games. >>READ MORE
Lake Union Publishing
Paperback, 978-1-5039-3997-4 (also available as an e-book, an audiobook, and on Audible), 334 pgs., $14.95
May 16, 2017
In 1943 in the Hidalgo County courthouse, Della Lee Trujillo is found guilty of the murder of her sister, Eula Lee, and sentenced to life in prison. Seventy years later, ninety-year-old Della returns to the fictional Texas border town of Puerto Pesar on parole. Della is ready for the Truth Days, ready to tell tales about the Before Days and the After Days; she just needs the right ear to hear them. Enter Mick Anders, a cynical reporter from Boston who has one last chance to save his career.
Before the Rain Falls: A Novel by San Antonio’s Camille Di Maio is a historical mystery, moving back and forth in time from the dark days of the Lee family’s past to the present-day troubles of Puerto Pesar. A record-breaking drought and poverty plague the town. As happens in trying times, desperate people turn to religion and the supernatural for solace and hope. >>READ MORE
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