The Huckleberry Murders: A Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I was constantly rolling my eyes as I read this book. The dialogue was canned & trying to hard to be funny, the characters were one-dimensional, & the whole plot lacked pizzaz. So many details were skipped over; the characters were so bland.I.e. when a sheriff gets a phone call about a sweet old lady who was pushed off a bridge, who says "that's quite a drop." Unrealistic, trying to be funny. Didn't work.It was not my style. I just don't have the heart to give 1 star. Patrick McManus makes even huntin'n' fishin' look like fun. I've read his story collections for years and would hurt myself laughing. He has since included mysteries in his arsenal and while they aren't as gut-wrenchingly hilarious as his shorter works, this one was fun to read.Bo Tully is the sheriff of Blight, Idaho where law is not done by the book as much as by the seat of the pants. Characterization in these is a more toned-down version of those in the short form. Eddie Muldoon appears, but he too seems to have had the edges rubbed off him. Everyone seems more ... adult.There is still plenty of humor in Tully's "animal magnetism" and his bevy of female admirers who must be juggled with care. His teasing of the FBI agent is not at all mean-spirited and he remains likable to the reader.In this particular story, he starts out to pick huckleberries from his secret huckleberry patch and some other pickers rush to him to tell him about some dead bodies nearby - shot execution-style. Other odd things are happening: Marge Poulson is still insisting that her ex-husband Orville was murdered by the man watching Orville's house for him while he went to Mexico. Just because Marge couldn't stand to live with him doesn't mean she doesn't care.There's a new woman in town and folks say she's a psychic, but she just seems to be an intelligent and attractive woman who is happy to dispense business advice she accrued through her MBA and her experiences on Wall Street. Then again, she is prone to gnomic utterances.Tully enlists his regular deputies as well as his infamous father, Poke Wimsey (the guide, former high school teacher, and - dare I mention - poet), Dave (the tracker-martial arts specialist), and even a motorcycle gang. And no monologizing killer!
What do You think about The Huckleberry Murders: A Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery (2010)?
First time I have read a book by this author and thoroughly enjoyed it. Will read more of his.
—afinley92
Strangely, this was a better mystery, but not so enjoyable from the Blight way angle.
—jessbrear93
I've been a McManus fan for years and this doesn't disappoint!
—Cesca
