Ten-Acre Rock is the fourth book in the Maytubby & Bond western murder mystery procedural series by Kris Lackey. Released 11th July 2023 by Blackstone, it's 220 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats (paperback due out in July 2024). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is a fairly intricate ensemble cast of characters and as this is the fourth book in a tight series, readers might struggle to keep the characters and their interrelationships straight in the beginning. There's not much backstory given in this book and all the settings and personal characteristics have to be gleaned from context. The writing is good, but delivered in staccato bursts and sentence fragments which might take some getting used to on the reader's part. The setting (rural Oklahoma, including tribal land) is palpable and the author does a very good job with the background descriptions.

Recommended for fans of western (USA) police procedurals with indigenous characters; they shouldn't expect it to be Hillerman or Craig Johnson, however. Fans of both of those authors will find lots to enjoy here though. It would be a good addition to public library collections, home use, or for a solid binge/buddy read from the beginning of the series.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

As I began this book, I felt as though I had been lifted up and dropped in an entirely foreign world. Admittedly, some of this might have been because I started the series with this, the fourth book. But the move to a backwoods Oklahoma world replete with unwashed hippy homesteaders, drunken petty (and not so petty) criminals, and a variety of backwoods folks caused more culture shock for me than just entering a series after the scene was set.

Bill Maytubby is a Chickasaw Lighthorse police sergeant, and his partner, Hannah Bond, is a county deputy. They stand heads above the craziness taking place on the reservation and in the county: in intellect, education (in Maytubby's case) and stature (in Bond's case). Before cracking the book, I had been imagining a cross between Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire and Tony Hillerman's Jim Chee. This book was anything but. And yet, it was fascinating, engaging, and fun to read.

The area in which Maytubby mainly serves summonses and Bond mainly provides traffic control comprises the border of Native American and county land. Between the two of them, they know most of the residents in the area and their proclivities, providing a real sense of the interconnectedness of residents in a rural area. When they are called to check out the report of a charred body in a kiln on a seemingly uninhabited remote piece of land, they discover what they quickly suspect is the remains of a young Chickasaw man. As they investigate a crime that is clearly outside their normal scope of duties, requiring them to work on it in off hours and somewhat under the radar, they uncover a larger conspiracy involving drugs, a land grab, and duplicity. There's an interesting mix of complexity and simplicity in the plot as backwoods ruffians meet city slickers.

Lackey describes the mostly flat landscape with roads meeting at right angles extremely well, contributing to the sense of being transported to Oklahoma. The characters of Maytubby and Bond are well fleshed out, even given that this is a continuation of a series. Other characters are somewhat stereotyped, often adding a sense of hilarity to situations that would otherwise be quite intense. The scenes between Maytubby and his love interest, Jill, are full of clever repartee, adding to the depth for the characters. Most times that Jill and Maytubby are together they cook together, and understanding a bit about the food of the area helps to build the sense of location.

TEN-ACRE ROCK is both character-driven and plot-driven, and each aspect is done well. And, in spite of the plot being centered on the murder of a young man, the book ends as positively as it could. In the meantime, the reader has learned a lot about the culture of the area and has been entertained along the way. I will definitely be watching for book #5 in the series, and I look forward to revisiting Maytubby, Bond, Jill and Oklahoma.

It takes real talent to find something fresh in the ‘American police procedural’ genre, but that’s just what author Kris Lackey does in Ten Acre Rock. County Deputy Hannah and First Nation police officer Maytubby share overlapping jurisdictions and a powerful sense of moral indignation. When the rulebook says they should look the other way and mind their own law-enforcement business, their compulsion to genuinely protect and serve the local people comes to the fore.

We’re back in rural Oklahoma, kicking up dust after dark, tracking bad guys who thrash their black trucks on the byways of the Big Rock prairie. And I love every minute of it.


This story starts with a horribly burned body, discovered in a makeshift charcoal kiln. Yes, a charcoal kiln is actually a thing in a state where some folk survive against the odds beneath the breadline (and consider squirrels a staple food), and where medical care is privilege to which few are automatically entitled. For British readers, this is a foreign land indeed.

When it becomes clear that the murder of a young Chickasaw man isn’t an isolated incident, Hannah and Maytubby begin their own investigations. They uncover a local narcotics network and then, probing deeper into dangerous territory, an insidious conspiracy – one which motivates murder for monetary gain. Cue scenes of moonlit stalking, interviews with Chickasaw elders, and bad men with big guns who don’t hesitate to use them.

Yet the tone is far from threatening throughout, thanks Maytubby’s hilarious undercover disguise and Hannah’s continual teasing about his healthy food choices (while she chows down on half a cow which is nearly still kicking). Lackey’s dialogue is pitch-perfect; he deftly implies the raised eyebrow or the subtle side-eye that accompany a dry gibe. It’s like spending time with old friends you’ve known for decades.

Then the tone changes in an eyeblink to genuine jeopardy from callous killers skulking in the shadows. Lackey writes with deliberate understatement and a refreshing disregard for dramatic hyperbole. It all feels horribly possible.

Even so, all the overlapping investigative agencies can be a bit tiring; you need to pay attention to keep them all straight. Should you get a little bit lost along the way then the final chapters wrap up the preceding events and tie off loose ends with an almost OCD level of attention to detail.

The Maytubby and Bond novels have developed into the ‘Chickasaw Nation Mysteries’. In theory they are all standalones, but to really enjoy the more intricate aspects of Ten Acre Rock I recommend starting at the beginning with Nail’s Crossing. That way you can completely absorb this book’s authentic sense of place and the author’s shrewd insights into the cultural complexities of 21st century America – portrayed with gritty social realism through his credible, engaging characters.

I just hope Maytubby is getting enough protein in his diet…

8/10

I received this eARC from Netgalley.com and am providing an unbiased review.

Admittedly, I could not finish this book. The story synopsis sounds very interesting, but within a few pages, my interest just wandered. I set it aside, and tried to pick it up and continue on several occasions, but just could not stay with it. I'm not even sure what made me lose interest. I have not read the previous stories of these characters, and the part of the book I did read, I saw no reason that this could not be a stand-alone novel. My regrets for not finishing it, but mayhaps will try again at a later time. I'm giving it three stars due to the content the novel is to be about (one of my favorites).

Maytubby and Bond have there hands full once again in Southeast Oklahoma when they are called to a remote homestead and find a piece of human bone in a burn pit. Set in the wide open Oklahoma the pace is fast and the story too sweet. Must read series for rural noir lovers.