Review: The Sheriff and the Panhandle Murders

The Sheriff and the Panhandle Murders Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
D. R. Meredith
Class/Genre: Mystery Amateur Sleuth Cozy
Series: Charles Matthews # 1
Ballentine Books; 1984; 182pp

If I hadn't already read and enjoyed a later series by D. R. Meredith, I may well have never managed to read this book which is set in the Texas Panhandle. Its not exactly the kind of book I usually enjoy. I avoid law enforcement as the lead characters. The first chapter introduces Billy Joe a horrid character I had no interest in getting to know so it took me three tries to get started. Fortunately the fellow gets killed off at the end of the first chapter.

This is the first of the series, and perhaps was her first book. The plot was standard for first book elements of those written in the 80's. Perhaps because of that I knew a certain character was either the murderer or destined to be the victim the minute that person appeared in the story. And since that person did not die, I knew through all the relatively skillful plot twists and red herrings who the murderer was. I was not suprised by the motive, because of stereotypical use of that motive in first novels, although the clues were not provided until the final climax of the book.

I am ambivalent about this book. It tended to follow the general elements of a cozy plot, but the nature of the deaths was beyond what would be acceptable in the genre for most readers. The first was onstage and nasty. The second was off stage but the murder discovery scene was grisly. Its not a matter of just skipping a couple paragraphs, the condition of the body and nature of how the second victim died is slipped into conversation several times.

I wish the author would put a little more effort into painting word pictures so I could see the characters and the settings more the way I assume the author sees them in her mind. The only real descriptions in the book were raunchy. Her story is all action and she shorts the reader on ambiance except when she's pointing out clue. It was easy, at least for me, to identify the killer based on that and the genre style but I would have prefered to do it by having the same clues the Sheriff did. And I just hate when the sleuth finally discovers the killer and the author coyly avoids revealing the brilliant flash of deduction and drags the reader around by the nose for another 20 or 30 pages. I knew who was being referred to anyway. It sure wouldn't have changed the ending negatively and might have had an ending written with more style and skill if the author had just plain said "X" did it, now lets get that person in custody.

I did find it suprising that one particular character that I assumed would be a one book character may well be a recurring character. And the resolution of this book does promise the next in the series may be a little more enjoyable because of the possibility. But my main objection that she doesn't include ambiance and a generous picture of what the characters see, probably won't change. Its a gap in the other series I've read.

I would like to give this book only 3 paws because of my ambivalence but I think it deserves four because for a first novel or first in a series it is better than average in some ways. I'll compromise on a 3.5

Book Review: The Sheriff and the Panhandle Murders