That Old Scoundrel Death by Bill Crider is the 25th book in the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series, and my first book by this author. Unfortunately the author passed away and this will be the last book in the series. I really enjoyed this book, where have I been, that I have not read this author before. I plan on going back and start at book one, which I find exciting to have 24 new books to read. I recommend this book.

I was given a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.

Confession: I haven't read a lot of Bill Crider, unlike most of the literate world. So, I'm reviewing his final Dan Rhodes novel as an outsider looking in.

The book opens with Sheriff Rhodes making what he thinks will be a motorist assist, only to discover that he's stepped into a road rage incident. Kenny is not appreciative of 'Cal Stinson's' driving, and is threatening him with a gun. Rhodes, who appears to always be clear-minded under pressure, subdues Kenny and arrests him.
The next time Rhodes sees 'Cal', the young man has been found dead in an abandoned schoolhouse in Thurston. His true name is Lawrence Gates, and he's not local.

The old schoolhouse is the center of community debate at the moment; some people want it torn down, others want it restored. Rhodes must tangle with the families at the center of the conflict, along with all the other problems Blacklin County can muster. The mayor is angry because a local blog has called him a nincompoop, the local buttinsky Seepy Benton has decided to become a private eye, someone is trying to kill Kenny and Noble (for good reason), and Rhodes' cohorts, Hack and Lawton, constantly complain about being left out of "the loop".
His wife Ivy keeps feeding him kale, which he hates, and he must sneak in his donuts and hamburgers while handling his duties. Meanwhile, reporter Jennifer Loam has reminded him that an election is coming up, and Rhodes isn't sure he wants to run again.

Despite these speed bumps, Rhodes continues his investigation into Gates' death. The closer he gets to the truth, the more he realizes that the schoolhouse issue is just the window dressing for the real issue.

What I enjoyed most in this novel were the gentle humor in the author's voice and how very realistic the characters were. I worked at the reports desk for a police department back in the Stone Ages, and Crider's depiction of Kenny Lambert (a miscreant with a snake tattoo on his neck) and Noble Truelove (badly named) reminds me very much of some of the jokers our officers encountered. The witnesses he interviews are also typical Southerners: they take forever to get to the point, and you're going to learn some history along the way.
Rhodes gets into dangerous situations, but they aren't due to macho behavior or idiocy; they're just things he has to do as sheriff. He also resolves them without loud bravado or action hero moves, something else I respect.

"I want to think that my end will be handled the way I'd like it to be handled. It would be a comfort to me to know that."

The above was from a thought-provoking conversation between Clyde the undertaker and Sheriff Dan Rhodes. Bill Crider was open with his cancer diagnosis, and writing what was likely to be his last Rhodes novel.

I couldn't help but notice the enormous cast of characters in this book, and I discovered that many appeared in previous adventures. He also showed us the new people who took over Hod Barrett's grocery store in Thurston. I couldn't help but think that this was a gift to long-term fans - giving everyone a last glimpse at their favorites, and perhaps concluding a few arcs. He, too, was handling the end the way he wanted it to be handled.

In an afterword, Crider thanks many of the people who helped him along the way in his writing career. He also gives his own opinion on whether Rhodes should run for sheriff again, but I'll leave that for you to discover.

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

It's hard to say goodbye to Bill Crider, creator of the world of Sheriff Dan Rhodes and to the stories he wrote about Dan Rhodes. Sheriff Dan Rhodes is trying to decide if he wants to run for re-election, to ride off into the Texas sunset. Bill didn't have a choice, taken from us far too soon. Gone but oh, what a wonderful legacy he left for us to revisit over and over again. This is the 25th and final story (unless my dream comes true and the stories continue from another pen) and Dan finds himself making a decision that he feels is wrong. Driving along on patrol he comes upon two men is a tense situation - one has a gun and a twitch, not good. The guy with the gun goes to the police station and the other man, the one who had the gun pointed at him, is sent on his way. The next time he is seen, he is dead on the floor of an old school house, shot. Besides being dead, he turns out to have been known by several names - so who is he? Will investigating this murder case answer the question of retirement?
I don't want to go into more detail and spoil anything. If you are new to this series you are in for a treat. These mysteries are full of characters, humor and a special slow pace befitting the setting of a small town in Blacklin County Texas. A wonderful legacy from a very talented writer.
In time I will go back and re-read all 25 books.

That Old Scoundrel Death is Bill Crider’s final book. Although the author died nearly a year ago, his books, with their unique characters, will live on. One of Crider’s most popular characters is Sheriff Dan Rhodes, a quiet, unassuming man who always tries to do the right thing. For many years I have wondered if Sheriff Rhodes was a fictionalized version of Mr Crider. I’d like to think so.

In That Old Scoundrel Death, Rhodes once again finds himself in the middle of a murder. At the same time he is contemplating another run for sheriff of Blacklin County, Texas (maybe), the fact that he’s getting older (definitely) and the question of who killed a man who was interested in an old school house (not a clue but plenty of suspects). In typical Crider fashion, the reader is drawn into the story as Rhodes navigates the various issues that confront a sheriff of a Texas county. And, the reader is introduced (or reintroduced) to the sheriff’s wife, Ivy, his jailer and dispatcher, Lawton and Hack, his deputy, Ruth, and a host of other characters. Meanwhile, the mystery itself is well-written and is just detailed enough to keep the reader interested.

This latest and last installment of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes mysteries isn’t a difficult book to read and in some places it slows down to a snail’s pace. But, there are spurts of activity that will keep a reader engaged and it is definitely a great book to pick up while on vacation or to fill a lazy afternoon.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

aw-enforcement, Texas, situational-humor, verbal-humor, murder-investigation

As always from Bill Crider, it's a great cozy mystery set in a sparsely populated county and filled with his signature humor and characters who truly are. The publisher's blurb gives some idea of what to expect except for the arson, and spoilers are just not the thing. Don't want to do the recap thing either.
The only sad thing that I will relate is that while the sheriff is waffling on the idea of retirement, Bill Crider had no choice as he lost his last battle after finishing this book.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

It was with sorrow and gratitude that I started reading this book. Sorrow because its author, Bill Crider, passed away in February 2018, and he seems to have been a lovely man, and because his passing means that this is the last of the delightful Dan Rhodes books. Gratitude, because I have read all of the series since the 1980’s, and enjoyed them. I am grateful that Mr Crider graced the reading public with his excellent stories and wonderful, memorable characters.

“That Old Scoundrel Death,” is set, like the majority of Bill Crider’s books, in Clearview, Texas. The hero, although he would not think of himself as one, is the Sheriff of Blacklin County, Dan Rhodes. A native of his area, Rhodes has been sheriff for a long time, and is surrounded by a dandy cast of secondary characters, including his fellow employees, Hank and Lawton, his wife Ivy, a local reporter named Jennifer Loam, a college professor turned private detective named Benson, and of course the cats, and the two dogs, Yancey and Speedo.

I don’t like spoilers so I am not going to give any. There is, naturally, a murder, and Rhodes goes about solving it in his usual sensible and reasonable manner. He interviews witnesses, weighs up their stories, and applies common sense. I did not foresee the ending, but readers more clever than I might. Along the way there is a great deal of entertainment to be had.

I am sorry that this is the last of the series, and I am going to miss the gang down in Blacklin County. But I was glad to read this book, and whether you are a fan of the series, or this is going to be your first one, you will enjoy it.