Murder in the Air: A Dan Rhodes Mystery »

Bill Crider is the winner of two Anthony Awards and an Edgar Award finalist. He lives with his wife in Alvin, Texas.

There’s a big stink in Blacklin County, and everyone seems to think Sheriff Dan Rhodes should do something about it. The smell is coming from the giant chicken farm owned by Lester Hamilton. Rhodes sees this as a matter for the state’s air-quality enforcement agency, not the county sheriff. That all changes, however, when Hamilton is found dead, floating in an old rock pit not far from the town of Clearview. Hamilton had probably been engaged in the act of noodling for catfish, which is not only highly dangerous but illegal in Texas.

Rhodes suspects that Hamilton didn’t die by accident, though. There are plenty of suspects, including an eccentric community college professor and one of his colleagues, who lives near the chicken farm and has to wear a respirator mask to ward off the smell. Also, someone known in the county as Robin Hood is going around shooting arrows into utility poles as a protest. When semi-nude protestors arrive at the chicken farm, things really begin to get out of hand.

Filled with fun, mayhem, and memorable characters, Murder in the Air is a wonderful addition to this very excellent series. Award-winning author Bill Crider shows again that he is one of the most talented and entertaining mystery writers around.

Publishers Weekly

Sheriff Dan Rhodes faces two big non-crime-related problems in Crider's winning 18th mystery to feature the Clearview, Tex., lawman (after 2009's Murder in Four Parts). First, a pair of women authors have written a couple of novels starring Sage Barton, "a two-fisted action hero" supposedly based on Rhodes, to the sheriff's embarrassment. Second, Lester Hamilton's foul (or fowl) smelling chicken farm, while legal, provokes endless complaints from Lester's neighbors. When Lester's body turns up near a well-known fishing hole, Rhodes has a real crime on his hands. Meanwhile, he also has to deal with a mad bowman locals call Robin Hood, who's causing mischief by shooting arrows with notes attached, as well as women who protest chicken farming in skimpy feather-covered outfits and the dangers of "noodling," i.e., fishing for large catfish with one's hand for bait. Few will be able to resist Crider's brand of broad humor, eccentric characters, and murder. (Aug.)