Book Review: Mad Dog and Englishman

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Mad Dog and Englishman     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
J. M. Hayes
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural
Series: Mad Dog and Englishman # 1
Poisoned Pen, Nov 2000, $23.95, 188 pp.

For the most part, the citizens of Buffalo Springs, Kansas are law abiding. It has been seventeen years since the last homicide. The sheriff’s brother, who is one-fourth Cheyenne, dresses up as an Indian. He goes to the local park seeking a vision, but instead stumbles over the mutilated corpse of Reverend Peter Samms.

The deputy chases after an outsider, a black man who the law enforcement official believes killed the Reverend. During the pursuit, the deputy wrecks the car. Next, police officials find the Reverend’s father dead with his head scalped in the same way as his son. These two murders are linked to the kidnapping of the sheriff’s daughter by two dysfunctional adults. The sheriff needs to outwit the psychotic duo while outrunning a tornado.

MAD DOG AND ENGLISHMAN does not contain Cocker or Russell, but remains a fascinating, unusual police procedural due to the cast. The ensemble seems to have just stepped out of the Twilight Zone or perhaps Eerie, Indiana. Thus, the plot and characters make for an uncanny tale that J.M. Hayes could turn into a series that serves as the exciting center of weirdness in the mystery universe.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner