The Sheriff Dan Rhodes series by Bill Crider is set in a small town in Blacklin County, a fictional county in Texas. It is a cozy series; Sheriff Rhodes solves crime mostly with his intuition and avoids computers where possible. He and his second wife are in their fifties. He loves Dr. Pepper in glass bottles and junk food for lunch, which his wife disapproves of. Death by Accident was published in 1998.
Two men die mysteriously in or near Clearview, Texas – one explodes, and the other is found drowned in a swimming pool. Sheriff Dan Rhodes cannot prove that those occurrences are not accidents, but he can feel it in his bones. He quietly investigates this theory, talking to people who knew those who died. Not long after these deaths, a third man is killed in a hit and run. A hit and run is a crime, but the death could have been an accident. Nevertheless, three unexplained deaths in such a short time convinces Rhodes that he is on the right track.
Often these books have a subplot going on. In Death by Accident, there are issues related to the competition between two historical societies in Clearview – the Clearview Sons and Daughters of Texas and the Clearview Historical Society. The Sons and Daughters group maintains the site where the swimming pool-related death took place. The other group wants to physically remove a historic building from that site. Sheriff Rhodes doesn't really think that anyone in those two groups is plotting murder, but there is a lot of mayhem and subterfuge going on. Because Rhodes has only a small staff, all of this keeps him busy. Along the way in this story Rhodes adds a new dog to the family and acquires an Edsel that needs to be refurbished.
I only have 16 books to go to finish this series. The last book in the series was published in 2019, so I imagine that Rhodes has to start using computers sometime along the way. We'll see. But I continue to enjoy police procedurals and other mysteries that were written at a time when technology was not so prevalent. And Dan Rhodes is one of my favorite fictional sheriffs.
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 1998
Length: 277 pages
Format: Hardcover
Series: Sheriff Dan Rhodes, #9
Setting: Texas
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: I purchased my copy.
18 comments:
I miss Bill's blog every day of my life. You could always visit there and left with a smile. I haven't read this one. I guess I read the ones from after I met him at a Bouchercon. Just as dear as you would expect.
Patti, Although I never met Bill, I read many of his posts and comments from him. I never heard anything but good things about him.
I go back and forth about whether I need to read the books in the Dan Rhodes series in order or not, because I have a good number of the later books in the series on my shelves.
I too love this series. I read them piecemeal, and I don't think I have read this one, but they are always a joy. And I didn't know him, but he sounds like a lovely man. The books are so funny and charming, but good detective stories too. I could read about the goings out in the police station all day.
Time to pick up another one...
Hi Tracy, I like Dan Rhodes too and thank you for introducing me to this series. I have read the first two books and must read Cursed To Death. And I particularly like mysteries where the author drops clues so the reader can figure out along with the sleuth who the killer might be and I believe Crider's series does that.
Crider was such a talented writer, wasn't he, Tracy? And I do like his Dan Rhodes character. I must admit, I'm not nearly all the way through that series. I'll get there. Someday. Maybe. Well, I want to, anyway! Thanks for the reminder.
Bill was a mensch, and a fine writer. I'll aspire further to be nearly as good at both as he was...
Your comment about the character using computers made me think about Sue Grafton's books. Even though she published them over years, they only progressed by months so they never kept up with technology.
This sounds like an interesting series. I'll have to see if my Libby has any of them.
Dan Rhodes sounds like a great character. I'm glad there are still many books left with him in it for you to enjoy. :D
It sounds like a good series. I remember the sheriff from Kathy's review of a Bill Crider book over at the blog Reading Matters. Since Texas is so hot -- I guess a Dr. Pepper would be all right. It's good he doesn't rely on computers so far.
Moira, I remember that you read and reviewed some of the books in the Dan Rhodes series. I will go and check which ones you reviewed and see where they fall in the series. I may start skipping around in the series.
Kathy, I am glad you liked those two books in the series. I agree that Crider provides clues for the reader and that was definitely true in this book, but I still did not guess who it was.
Margot, I want to read other series by Bill Crider also, but you know how it is, finding time to read everything that is appealing. It is hard to keep up with series also, and also read new authors.
Todd, that is a good description of Bill, he was both of those and a great role model.
Kelly, it is possible that this series is set up like the Kinsey Millhone series so that Bill doesn't age much if at all. The man who works in the office as the dispatcher (etc.) is continually pointing out that the Sheriff should take advantage more, even though he is much older than Dan Rhodes.
Lark, the sheriff is a good man, and the job he has is hard, with such a small staff. I am eager to read the next one to learn more about the new dog.
Susan, my son and I are also fans of Dr. Pepper, which is why I always find Dan Rhodes love for Dr. Pepper so charming. The drink was created in Waco, Texas in the 1880s. I don't drink any soda anymore, but my son always has some on hand.
I plan to finish the series somehow, eventually, but after the 10th book, the rest are not available as ebooks. And they can be hard to find and expensive. A few of the later ones I have as hardbacks.
I'm charmed to hear your son still likes Dr. Pepper .... I didn't realize it was created in Waco. I think it had its heyday in the 1970s. Which reminds me: I had a Mountain Dew soda today ... which I don't think I'm supposed to ever drink ...I only see them at gas stations LOL.
Susan, Mountain Dew is an interesting drink. It never appealed to me when I was younger, partly because of the color. It always surprises me today to see how many flavors all soft drinks have. Mountain Dew was created in Tennessee.
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