Murder Among the OWLS

Sheriff Dan Rhodes #14

by Bill Crider

It was the cat who "told" Sheriff Dan Rhodes that something was wrong. It ran into the house when he opened the door. His wife, Ivy, recognized the cat as belonging to their neighbor and told Dan to go check on the widow--Helen Harris never let the cat out of the house.

When Dan finds Helen's body on her kitchen floor, there is nothing to indicate that her death wasn't an accident. But Ivy's words ring in his head. Why was the cat out?

Helen had been active in a number of women's groups, one of which was the OWLS, the Older Women's Literary Society. She and some other women would also venture out with digging tools to look for ancient booty in the lands around the town. They didn't usually find much, but every now and then someone would dig up a coin or a piece of jewelry with potential. Could this have been the reason for Helen's death?

The investigation becomes more complicated as Rhodes learns that she actually had a number of suitors. Also, a news-hungry reporter who smells a juicy story gives Rhodes more trouble.

This is the fourteenth book in which Bill Crider has wowed readers with the extraordinary adventures of his Sheriff Dan Rhodes. Add a cast of vibrant characters, including wise-cracking deputies and the slightly wacky local citizens in Rhodes's bailiwick, and every book in this series is a wonderful treat.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Humor, Crime, Animals

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 9, 2007

About the author

Taught English at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Tex., and went on to become the chair of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College in Alvin, Tex.; prolific writer of mystery, science fiction, western, horror, and children's books, not to mention short stories, articles, reviews, and blog posts; perhaps best known for his Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery series.

Reviews

[carol. · Rating 3 out of 5]

If a sheriff's investigation into an elderly lady's death could be said to be a cozy mystery, this would be the one. A black cat shows up on Sheriff Rhodes' doorstep, striking fear into the heart of Yancey the Pomeranian and silencing his incessant yap. Rhodes' wife Ivy immediately recognizes it as the cat belonging to Helen Harris, former elementary school teacher, member of the Rusty Nuggets (a metal detecting club) and member of the OWLS, the Older Women's Literary Society (it should be clarified that Ivy only went as a guest, not being qualified by age). The sheriff discovers poor Helen lying dead on the floor, apparently victim of a faulty footstool, although something about the scene doesn't seem right. A missing will seems to hint at a possible motive for murder. Was it cousin Thorpe, general hell-raiser and trailer park denizen looking to make some fast cash?

I gave this series a try at Karl's suggestion, essentially pre-screening it for my mother, who believes she is always looking for another series (she reads much slower than I do). Strangely, though Bill Crider has a number of books in this series, my (northern) library system only has a few, leading me to pick this one on the strength of the owl association (we have a thing for owls here, along with birds in general). I wasn't feeling up to the demands of anything serious, and I must say this fit the bill nicely. Though Sheriff Rhodes isn't going to set any investigation aflame with speed, being the ambling sort of dude that he is, he is generally kind, funny, and not above tweaking the dispatcher's nose by being stingy with gossip or information. It's only fair--the dispatcher isn't above twitting Rhodes about a new book series or a dust-up at the local McDonalds (this clearly took place in the time period before the all-day breakfast menu).

To be honest, the dynamic between Sam the cat--who may or may not be moving in--Yancy the dog, and the sheriff kept me as entertained as the investigation. Would Yancey resume barking? Why did Speedo the dog live outside? Will Rhodes offer Sam to everyone he encounters? Is Rhodes' cat allergy real? Will Sam and Yancey ever make peace?

You can see there are a lot of important questions here, but I suspect I'm going to have to go back to an earlier book to get answers about Speedo.

And the mystery, you ask? It was fine. Solving it was more a matter of sudden inspiration than methodical detective work, but it was entertaining enough along the way. Totally appropriate for moms.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book begins with a dead body found almost next door to Sheriff Dan Rhodes home, upon first glance it appears to be an accident, a woman, Hellen Harris, appears to have fallen off of a step stool while changing a light bulb in her kitchen. But things just don't look right to the Sheriff.

As the body is removed by the ambulance Rhodes gets involved with a back up at McDonald's. It seems that a customer just can't get his breakfast sandwich the way he wants it so he won't exit the drive through causing a near riot in the drive-through line.

With crisis large and small our mild mannered hero, who really doesn't like confrontation, but won't run away from it confronts the problems of small town life in a rural Texas town populated by idiosyncratic members of the community and his staff to resolve the problems that cross his path. And that's not even mentioning the cat that has adopted the Sheriff.

Another well written entry in this ongoing series contains no gore no copious amounts of blood or ultra violence. An enjoyable series that should be started at the beginning filled with sly humor and likable characters.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 14th book of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series which is a cozy mystery series with some humour in there (nothing over the top, but more gentle). When a black cat simply walks into his house and Rhodes' wife knows exactly where this house-only cat comes from, she asks him to check and see if one of their neighbours, Helen Harris, is okay. Not only is she not okay, Rhodes finds her dead, accident unlikely.

This become more complex as time goes on (no, she doesn't have a number of suitors as the jacket implies, just one, but there are certainly a number of possible suspects). We get to see into three different clubs she is in; my favourite is the one where all the women where red hats and purple dresses (love that poem), and enjoyed a reference to Lillie Langtry somewhere along the line--something I didn't expect in this sort of novel.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries, this is an enjoyable read (redundancy kept as I have a migraine and am not going to make myself reword this.)

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just heard that writer Bill Crider has passed away. The Dan Rhodes series has always been a favorite of mine.
I picked this up upon hearing of his passing.
A stray cat leads Rhodes to the house of a retired school teacher. It looks like a accident....but a few things don't add up for Rhodes..the cat being one of them.
I enjoyed this one very much. I will miss Mr. Crider's writing....

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been introduced to Sheriff Dan Rhodes in Bill Crider's short story collection, THE NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME, I couldn't wait to encounter him in a full-length book. So I picked up MURDER AMONG THE OWLS (2007).

Police procedurals in which the protagonist is a sheriff have both similarities and differences with other varieties of this subgenre. First, although populous urban counties do have sheriffs (at least in my experience), those in mystery stories tend to be the sheriffs of thinly populated rural areas. Second, sheriffs are directly elected by the voters (again in my experience), not appointed or hired as are police chiefs and officers. So they must balance their desire to do a good job and catch criminals with the need to placate the voters. Sheriff Dan Rhodes is a good example.

When a cat turns up on their doorstep one morning, the Sheriff's wife recognizes it and sends him out to check on the cat's owner, a fellow member of the OWLS (a women's book group). Sure enough, the lady in question appears to have met with an accident while changing a lightbulb. But then who let her indoor cat out? Sheriff Rhodes is unwilling to take this "accident" at face value and begins investigating even before the medical examiner corroborates his suspicions. Throughout the book, we see instances where the Sheriff, a local boy, uses his knowledge of the townspeople and his (and his wife's) connections to advance his investigation.

There is plenty of humor in this story (particularly in the interactions of the visiting cat with Rhodes' dogs), but plenty of action as well. Suspects proliferate and everyone has something to hide until Sheriff Rhodes' observant nature gives him the final clue he needs to solve the murder. I must confess that I did guess the murderer, but not the motive. I wouldn't call this a fault, though -- I enjoy trying to guess "whodunnit" and relish my infrequent successes.

I see by the front of the book that I have quite a bit of catching up to do with Sheriff Rhodes and also with Mr. Crider's two academic mystery series (and I do love a good academic mystery). The lengthy list promises a lot of enjoyment.

[Marfita · Rating 2 out of 5]

I seem to have entered this series rather precipitously mid-stream. This is part of the Stray Pets, Collect 'Em All style of mystery. Sheriff Dan Rhodes acquires a neighbor's indoor cat after her original owner is murdered. The style is laconic. You can hear the deadpan in the narration as well as the sheriff's dialog. Rhodes has problems with his underlings and they seem to engage in some sort of game where both parties withhold information from each other. Rhodes's wife, Ivy, seems annoyed that he does his job. At least Deputy Ruth is respectful, unlike the suspects. One suspect tries to kill Rhodes with a chainsaw and he's beaten with a heavy handbag by another.
I'm not sure if the deadpan kills the humor or augments it. I wasn't laughing particularly. The style reminded me of one of my favorite authors who also branched out into mysteries, Patrick McManus. McManus's mysteries aren't the laugh riot his huntin' and fishin' essays are (and I don't even like huntin' and fishin' but I have to occasionally put the book down to laugh), so I don't really expect that from Crider either. I'm just not sure what to make of this.
Of course, one of the really good points was that it had the cat in it. Everything is better with a cat in it.

[Justin Partridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I know how serious it is,” Rhodes said. “I don’t suppose Lily mentioned that she hit me with her purse.”

Extra full ⭐️ for Sam the Cat.

But seriously, what a tonic these Sheriff Dan books continue to be. Low stakes (but dire enough) mysteries. A whole gaggle of characters I love a lot; this one especially stands out having lots of Ivy and Deputy Ruth in it. A very charming and not-at-all “superhuman” protagonist (though I do love that in certain other books! Don’t get me wrong!)

I just really love these a lot now. Even just dipping into them has been such a treat.

This one in particular is a real highlight. The wrong cat walks into Sheriff Dan’s life and runs him afoul of the Older Women’s Literary Society (or OWLs, if ya NASTY) as a bucolic murder has them and other septuagenarian social clubs of Blacklin county all in a tizzy.

And I think too the cooler aspect of these is that it’s not like a by the numbers whodunnit either. Dan himself keeps reminding you that hes kinda dumb and that his mind isn’t the clue hound, hyper focused detective that might sustain other books. He just sort of wanders through the plot and its new cast and provides all the pieces, face up on the table, but he (and you really) can’t see how and why they fit until likely the very last ten pages! It’s mighty impressive.

And further impressive is how something as small as “the leads have to take care of a cat” can give your story this whole new energy and gear of storytelling, it should happen more often tbh. Give Jack Reacher a cat for a book. BOSCH. Honor Harrington already has one. So does Jack Aubrey, his name is Stephen. It’s a great bit.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Changing a lightbulb can be murder. Just ask Helen Harris. Oops, you can’t. she’s both fictional and dead. When her cat burst into Sheriff Dan Rhodes’s door one day, Dan’s wife knew something was amiss with Helen, the widowed neighbor. At her urging, he enters the house and finds Helen dead. It looks like she fell while changing the bulb. But if that’s true, how did a carefully maintained housecat escape the house? It’s the cat’s appearance in his home that convinces Rhodes that someone indeed may have murdered Helen.

She was a member of the Older Women’s Literary Society or OWLS, and when Bill turns to members of that group for answers, he gets far more than he thought he would.

If you read this, you’ll read about promiscuous suiters, jilted suiters, and so much more you’ll never again believe that turbulent love is solely the property of the young.

I’ve never found the humor in these books to be all that memorable. It’s there, and it’s ok, and you’ll likely enjoy some elements of it especially the dialogues among Rhodes’s staff. The mystery element is fun albeit not starkly memorable. But it’s a good cozy with no annoying sex scenes.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was delighted when I found this Bill Crider book that I had not read. I have read most of his books, and always enjoy them, not the least because his Dan Rhodes mysteries are set in a fictional place modeled on Crider's home town--a town about 10 miles from my home town, and one full of familiar landmarks and characters. This is one of his better books--without really "evil" characters, just people let their bad character lead them astray. Maybe everyone will not appreciate Crider's books, but they make me remember the places of my younger life. Sadly, Crider is no longer alive, and we will not be getting more of his writing.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even in a small, struggling town, murder happens. Even retired elementary teachers can be murdered. Even family members can be suspects. (O.K., that's not so unique.) If you're Sheriff Rhodes it takes many interviews often over and over with the same people. Then, those people do dumb things like attacking the Sheriff with a chain saw and trying to escape him by stealing a truck and leading him on a not-so-merry chase through rain-clogged back roads and streams. It doesn't come to a good end. In fact, the end was pretty darn good.

[Ila Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick/enjoyable book. I escape and return once and awhile to this series starring small Texan town sheriff Dan Rhodes. It’s like returning home to see what eccentric characters and strange happenings complicate his life. Every book in the series is a “cozy mystery” even if there is a murder….and this time the victim was a retired teacher, an elderly lady who lived close to the sheriff and his wife.

In this book, the sheriff was attacked with a chain saw, had a not-so-merry car chase through back roads and streams, and again deals with eccentric and interesting characters.

[Ken Finlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Murder Among the OWLS”, fourteenth in the 'Sheriff Dan Rhodes' series, starts with a cat visiting Dan and Ivy's home.
Ivy recognises it as the house pet of an elderly local woman, Helen Harris.
Helen is, the reader will have already guessed, dead.
It's murder, but why?
Could it something to do with her missing will or perhaps it involves item she found while metal detecting with a local society.
Dan , as always, turns every stone before inspiration (and the answers) come to him in a flash.
It's a cosy mystery with a good heart.
3 Stars.

[Terry Steinborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable entry in the Sheriff Rhodes series by Bill Crider. As usual, Crider managed to tell a story about a murder and the corresponding investigation while keeping things in a lighter vein. The events take place in a small Texas town filled with eccentric and interesting characters. He eventually figures things out, but that seems rather anticlimactic after the missteps along the way. A cat is involved in the story, but the book is OK anyway.

[Jewett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being an old woman who reads a lot, I especially loved this one.

[Mariellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started slow but picked up. I liked the characters and the humor.

[MaureenM · Rating 4 out of 5]

An off the wall approach to solving a murder. Light read.

[Mary Ahlgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the title because I belong to a book group known as OWLS:) Doubt we have any murderers among us though.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad little story, but awfully cutesy and cosy.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple yet fun mystery!

[Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!! Keep me guessing from start to finish.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#14 in the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series. A black cat shows up on Rhodes back porch. His wife, Ivy, identifies it as Sam, Helen Harris' indoor cat and asks Dan to check on Helen. Helen is dead on her kitchen floor, apparently the victim of a domestic accident, but Dan is suspicious of the unlatched screendoor and the wandering cat, so he intends to investigate it as a possible homicide. Helen's membership in several clubs provide a plethora of suspects in addition to her cousin, a boyfriend and the owner of a used car lot. Rhodes employs his usual "detecting by wandering about" style to uncover the malefactor. A low-key, enjoyable, cozy mystery sure to please series followers.

Dan Rhodes series - When Sam, Helen's cat, shows up on Sheriff Dan Rhodes' back porch, Rhodes goes to Helen's home but finds Helen dead in her kitchen. Did she take a tumble off a stool or is something amiss? Rhodes begins to poke into Helen's seemingly sedate life in Blacklin County, Texas. Could a murderer lurk within the Older Women's Literary Society? Or perhaps someone covets the lucrative mineral rights Helen owns to property with natural gas wells? Rhodes picks his way through the case and the suspects in his inimitable aw-shucks, slightly befuddled style.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first foray into the murder and mayhem world of Sheriff Dan Rhodes, although it is Bill Crider's 14th book of this series. The interactions are snappy, fresh and often amusing.; I enjoyed the book.

Blacklin County is again the scene of the caper; a murder occurs in a house a couple of blocks from Rhodes and his wife, Ivy. Crider proves that the folks in a small town are often as eccentric as those in large cities. The secondary characters entertain and drop clues along the way.

Because of Sam the cat, Rhodes finds the dead body of Helen Harris, a retired teacher who is active in a variety of social clubs (including the local OWLS (Old Women's Literary Society). It looks like an accident, but Rhodes isn't so sure. Then he finds that Mrs. Harris is a much more complex person than he thought; arguments and clues start to fly.

I listened to an audio version of this novel; reader George Guidall added so much to this book!

[lynne fireheart · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book knowing nothing about the writer nor the series; however, since this was #14 of this Sheriff Dan Rhodes series, I figured it must have something going for it. Sadly, this was not the case.

I acknowledge that there is so much potential in the set-up [a house-bound cat turns up outside, indicating its owner's death may not be a simple accident], humorous interactions among the characters [the Sheriff trying to pass the cat off to just about everyone he meets, for example], and all those twists and turns before finally getting to the bottom of this small town Texas whodunit of a member of the Old Women's Literary Society (OWLS).

However, the simplistic writing, short sentences and insipid characters ensured this potential remained unrealized.

It was a painful read. Don't bother.

(This was my review posted at FUN WITH DEAD TREES (r.i.p.))

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I threw this book in to top off my $2 bag at the library sale and I'm glad I did. I was a little surprised when I found out that it is #14 in the series because there are a lot of series that have run their course by book #5 or #6. A series that doesn't stink by #14 is a force to be reckoned with. I love the sheriff's wife, Ivy, and all of the quirky characters who work with the sheriff. And all the characters typical of small towns everywhere. And the relationship between the sheriff and Sam, the cat.

This book is not a thriller. If you are looking for a book that keeps you awake at night with characters who make you lose your faith in humanity, this isn't it.

[Missyjohnson1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

wish I could hit 3.5 stars. nice little escape to Blacklin County. I like the characters and how real Mr. Crider is able to make them. I really like how he can take just plain ole everyday life, observe it, then transfer it to the page and make it be real. Nothing too outrageous or unbelievable just normal but fun.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy the Sheriff Dan Rhodes books, but someone needs to do something about the copy-editing. Not only are there misspelled words but when you have a main character in this book and sometimes he is a Colonel and sometimes (same page next paragraph) he is a Lieutenant, you have to wonder if there is anyone proof reading..

[Mascanlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 7th or 8th volume in the series of Sheriff Dan Rhodes. I don't think I have read any before. I love the plotting and characters and the fact that the mayhem took a back seat to solid story telling. I'll be backing up to find more books in this series.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When sheriff Dan Rhodes finds the body of a quiet, retired schoolteacher, he's supposed to think that her death was an accident. But a lying suitor, a con-man cousin, and several suspicious characters make Rhodes think that foul play is involved.

[JoDee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series. It is not realistic as it is very light hearted and real law enforcement can be very distrubing. This is a modern version of Mayberry-sure there is murder, some other forms of sinning in the books, a little shennagins, but everything is done with a light touch and very enjoyable.

[Barbara Villegas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's fun to stumble across a different author, just because SAPL can't keep up with my wish list. The characters are richly built. Loved the plot and it's resolution. It's good to find another Texas author who I plan to follow through his writings.