Smitten by Books

Hayward is a sleepy Southwestern town full of cattle, trucks, and tumbleweeds. Virgil Dalton’s been the sheriff for over a dozen years and has lived there all his life. It’s a place where everybody pretty much knows everybody—but they don’t know each other’s secrets…

Buddy Hinton is just a good ole boy. So when he disappears after a night drinking at the Black Bull, his friends just figure he went down to Mexico to find himself a girlfriend and eventually will come back. But this case quickly becomes a homicide after the sheriff discovers the missing man floating in one of his stock tanks.

For a man who wasn’t known to have enemies, Buddy clearly upset someone. Figuring out who that was will require Virgil and his deputy, Jimmy, to retrace Buddy’s last steps—and to remain a step ahead of a murderer who may have no qualms about killing again …

Sheriff Virgil Dalton has lived in his home town of Hayward his whole life and is proud to now be serving that town as the sheriff. His latest investigation is discovering what happened to Buddy Hinton, who seems to have vanished after an evening of drinking at a local bar called the Black Bull. Buddy’s disappearance is puzzling because Buddy is a good guy. He doesn’t seem the type to just leave, and he doesn’t have any known enemies. What begins as a baffling case of a missing person becomes an even more complex murder investigation when the sheriff finds Buddy’s body in one of his own cattle stock tanks. Buddy and his deputy, Jimmy, are on the case and are determined to find justice for Buddy, even when the case becomes even difficult and downright dangerous!

This book is set in a small town in the southwestern United States. Unless I missed it, I don’t think the state was ever given, but it sounds like Arizona. I was hoping it would be more like a Tony Hillerman or C.J. Box novel, but although it’s a modern story, because of the mood and the writing, it reads more like a western. It took a while for me to get used to the matter-of-fact writing style of the author. The narrative is sometimes choppy and the dialogue is sometimes stilted. However, there are times when the author impresses with his clever phrasing that makes the book relatable and realistic. For example, I love this description of a wannabe NASCAR racing team.

“…the problem was his boys were long on wanting and short on reliable.”

Once the story gained momentum and I was more accustomed to the way the author tells the story, I enjoyed the suspense in seeing how Virgil would solve the crime while dealing with a variety of personal issues. The book was loaded with unique characters that still seem like “real people”. They work for a living, have complex interactions, and believable flaws. I like the partnership between Virgil and his deputy Jimmy. Virgil is a respected mentor for Jimmy and Jimmy is someone Virgil knows he can trust. When health issues force Virgil to rely more on his deputy, this allows Jimmy to gain experience and confidence in his own abilities, and I enjoy seeing Jimmy’s growth. In addition to Virgil and his deputy, Jimmy, I really like Virgil’s Aunt Clara. Clara is an octogenarian who still gardens in the hot Southwest sun, cools down with a glass of vodka-spiked lemonade, and isn’t afraid to give her nephew advice on his sex life. I wish she had played a bigger role in the book, because she is a delightful character.

The investigation is interesting and there are plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. I came to care about Virgil and was very interested in the unexpected twists in Virgil’s life and am curious to see how those may play out if there is a sequel to this book. The solution to the case is unexpected, but after the long build-up, falls a little flat. The book gets off to a slow start, but those looking for something a little different may want to try this debut crime novel by Frank Hayes.

Reviewed by Christine