If you're looking for a laugh-a-minute mystery in the style of Joan Hess or
Carl Hiaasen, run right out and buy this book. Paula Boyd has to be the
funniest lady to come out of Texas in many a year, seconded only by her
fast-talking, love-struck heroine, Jolene Jackson. Dead Man Falls celebrates
Jolene's reappearance in print after Boyd's successful debut novel, Hot
Enough To Kill, hit the shelves in 1999. Both books have won rave reviews
across the country, and it doesn't take a genius to understand why. Boyd is
one talented writer who plays with words the way Springsteen plays with
sounds; every bit of dialogue and background fits perfectly into the story
with no extraneous fluff to destroy the pace. It's as near perfect a
comedy-mystery as you can find on the market today.
Jolene Jackson's greeting card business is headquartered in Colorado, but
that doesn't prevent the single mom of two college-aged kids from returning
to Kickapoo, Texas, on her mother's "every little whim or incarceration --
whichever comes first." This time she's back in town for Lucille's 72nd
birthday bash at the local Dairy Queen. Iced tea and fried chicken are on the
menu, but so are murder and mayhem. As part of the pre-birthday festivities,
Lucille drags her daughter off to Redwater Falls, the next town up the road
from Kickapoo, for the grand unveiling of a brand new, super-duper waterfall.
Because the pumps aren't completely installed yet, water for the man-made
falls has to be supplied by the local fire department via their massive
hoses. All seems to be in order when the crowd gathers to watch the first
drops of water trickle over the falls. But when the trickle becomes a
torrent, lo and behold, down from the rocky structure tumbles a body.
The dead man turns out to be an old high school classmate of Jolene's. That's
shocking enough for the ex-resident of Kickapoo, but when pages from her
senior yearbook are found tied between Calvin Holt's lifeless hands, the
shock turns to fear. Holt's face has been X'd out of the group photo, and
Jolene's picture has been circled in red. Also circled is the face of Sheriff
Jerry Don Parker, Kickapoo's top lawman and Jolene's from-a-distance heartthrob. Redwater Falls Detective Rick Rankin decides that Jolene and Jerry
need protecting lest they become the killer's next victims. Protection, in
this case, amounts to locking the two of them up together in a hotel room
while Rankin hunts down the killer. While there are certain satisfying
aspects to this forced incarceration, Jolene must admit to being a tad
worried about Lucille. Her gun-toting momma is being guarded -- and romanced
-- by Fritz Harper, a 65-year-old retired farmer and deputy sheriff. Will the
killer try to get to Jolene and Jerry through Lucille? If he does, will Fritz
be fast enough on the draw to save his ladylove from harm?
For the answers to these and other equally intriguing questions, read Dead
Man Falls by WILLA Award winner Paula Boyd. The book sparkles with wry good
humor, but it's not all fun and games for Jolene Jackson. Boyd treats readers
to a well-crafted plot rippling with suspense and a logical conclusion that
ties up all the loose ends. It's a gem of a book, and one that should earn
Boyd the respect of the entire mystery community.
© 2002 by
Mary V. Welk for Curled Up With a Good Book