Edgar Award-nominated author Ben Rehder’s Blanco County comic mysteries have made best-of-the-year lists in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Field & Stream. The novels have been optioned by Warner Brothers Horizon Scripted Television for development as a cable TV series.
Buck Fever: It’s the week before deer hunting season, as close to a statewide holiday as you get in Texas, and the locals are getting restless. Game Warden John Marlin has his hands full with poaching complaints coming in faster than he can write out-of-season tickets. Then a call of a different sort comes in. A man dressed up in some sort of deer costume has been shot at the Circle S ranch, and witnesses are reporting a massive wild-eyed buck prancing about the pasture in a lovesick frenzy. Marlin’s seen a lot in his years, but this is wilder than he could have imagined: the man in the deer suit is a good friend, and the whacked-out whitetail isn’t exactly a stranger either.
It’s the beginning of a mad, frantic weekend in Blanco County, one that will see a few more men shot, an invasion by Colombians with more than hunting on their minds, and damn near the end of Marlin’s life. Ben Rehder serves it all up with a huge helping of humor in this debut comic mystery that will firmly establish him as the funniest crime writer in Texas.
Buck Fever See book description above.YeeeeHawwww! This was a fun one.The writing was fast and furious. The story line original and outrageous. As a first novel, Ben Rehder has started out on the right foot. Keep up the good work.If you’re looking for something fun, yet not to serious, to read, be sure you give Rehder a shot.Recommended.
Fast moving action! A drug ring disguised as a game farm? What a great plot!I couldn’t put it down once started. The multiple sub-plotsall come together in a well crafted ending. Each characterwas developed so completely that I could identify with theirmotives (no matter how evil). The author pokes a little fun at the commercial game farms now replacing traditional open range deer hunting in some regions.
The First Book in the Blanco County, Texas Series Having been impressed by the comic genius in Flat Crazy, Mr. Rehder’s latest book, I decided to go back to the beginning of the series to read this book. While Flat Crazy is clearly the better book, I found this book to be a rewarding story to read. The humor isn’t quite so sharp and the story develops a little more ponderously, but Buck Fever clearly works. I suggest that you read Buck Fever in the firm knowledge that you have at least one better story ahead in the series.Â