^#smrgSAHAF Flat Crazy: A Blanco County Mystery - 2004

From the Edgar, Lefty, and Barry award-nominated author Ben Rehder comes the funniest entry yet in his hilarious Blanco County mystery series. Some kind of unidentified wild creature is on the loose in Blanco, and, over the protests of sensible game warden John Marlin, the locals have convinced themselves they're dealing with a mythical vampirish beast called a chupacabra. Of course it doesn't help Marlin's cause when a dead body turns up with a suspicious fang-like wound in its neck...

Then things really get out of hand: tabloid news programs invade Blanco, good ol' boys Red O'Brien and Billy Don Craddock develop a cockamamie get-rich-quick scheme involving the animal, and everyone is a little surprised at the booming population of voluptuous Chinese dwarves who've turned up in town. If anyone can make sense of the eerie events in Blanco County, it's John Marlin, who's well-versed in the intricacies of small-town life, Texas style. But can he do it before another body turns up?

Only a first-rate humorist and ingenious plotter like Ben Rehder could possibly summon from his imagination the kind of laugh-out-loud mysteries his fans have come to count on, and Flat Crazy is further evidence that this talented writer has hit his comic stride.