Book Review: A Ghost of a Chance

Reviewed By: Jaynie - Australia

A Ghost of a Chance     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Bill Crider
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Supernatural   Humorous
Series: Dan Rhodes # 10
Thomas Dunne, 263 pages/ $23.95

Dan Rhodes is Sheriff of the small Blacklin County in Texas. The Sheriffs department has a jail attached and the prisoners are kicking up a stick telling Dan the cells are haunted. As if paranoid prisoners werent enough, a group of teenagers come running into the Sheriffs office yelling about another ghost in the local cemetery. Rhodes and his staff Hank the dispatcher and Lawton the jailor deal with these problems with their usual humour and bantering. The laughing stops when instead of a ghost, the undertaker comes across a body in a freshly dug grave. The sheriff finds himself with a murder case.

The murdered man is Ty Berry, the President of one of the local historical associations and currently trying to stop the local cemeteries from being looted. Vandalism and robbery in the countys cemeteries are a large problem with gravestones and memorial statues being stolen almost nightly. Rhodes must sift through the ghosts and the rest of people who dislike Berry to find out who killed the man. When one of the main suspects is also found dead, the case gets complicated. Throw in some bodies and drugs and this small town Sheriff has a big problem on his hands.

A Ghost of a Chance is the tenth outing in Bill Criders Sheriff Dan Rhodes series. I recommend this book to fans of Police Procedurals who dont like their books too black and horrible. This is a great read with minimal violence, and a great cast of characters. Its fun and clever, and portrays the small-town life in a respectable realistic manner. If you havent tried this series, start now.

Jaynie - Australia

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jaynie - Australia