It's November and repercussions of events in Winning Can Be Murder are still felt by many including Rhodes. So too is his age because more and more the county is changing and not for the better. Back when Rhodes was a heck of a lot younger, he swam in the swimming pools on the Old Settler's Grounds. Fed by the river the pools had been a great place to cool off. As the years past, the pools fell into disrepair and nobody is supposed to be swimming in them any more. Technically, the man floating in one of the pools isn't swimming, as he is dead.
It looks like a freak accident and nothing more thanks to the rope and the busted limb from the tree adjoining the pool. It certainly appears that the man, no doubt drunk, was swinging on the rope over the pool when the limb snapped. The limb hit the man in the head and either knocked him out so that he drowned in the water or outright killed him. The dead man, Peter Yeldell, has been in trouble of one type or another for years and alcohol was usually involved. So the whole deal makes sense in a weird way.
But, Yeldell's death would be the second freak accident in two weeks. The first was John West. He literally exploded on a country road of Clearview around 2 in the morning in a bizarre accident.
That death was bugging Rhodes and now he has this accidental death. In typical Rhodes fashion, despite all the evidence to the contrary, Rhodes starts asking questions and poking around. Before long he finds more questions than answers and manages to get himself in trouble yet again.
Ninth in the series, this novel sheds no new light on the character or those around him. His daughter Susan is still a no show character having vanished early on, Rhodes still doesn't trust computers, loves Dr. Pepper and is tolerant despite grumbling of his wife's attempts to make him eat healthier. And he still doesn't call for back up and walks into situations that clearly by now he should have learned it would be a good idea at the very least to unholster his weapon.
Despite those quirks that some readers will question, Rhodes maintains a steady hand and comfortable feeling for the reader. Bill Crider's focus is always the latest fiasco in the county as well as the latest crime/murder and spends most of his story telling energy in that direction. Therefore, readers who want to see major character development and bloodbath every few pages or novels may wish to look elsewhere. Those who must wallow in the mind of the evil serial killer every other chapter should go elsewhere as well because Crider doesn't do clichéd. What he does and does very well is create interesting characters in real life you would be happy to know and call friends while telling a tale focused on the mystery and not the forensics. This is another solid good book in the series that hasn't produced a bad one yet.
Death By Accident
Bill Crider
http://www.billcrider.com/
Wheeler Publishing (Gale/Thorndike)
http://www.gale.cengage.com/thorndike/
1998
ISBN# 1-56895-663-0
233 Pages
Large Print Version
Review copy provided by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2009
(Reviews coming soon-- A Ghost Of A Chance by Bill Crider, Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald Westlake, and more)
Posts
2 comments:
Thanks, as always, for the kind words.
Wouldn't say it, as always, if it wasn't true.
Post a Comment