Holy Moly

Blanco County Mysteries #6

by Ben Rehder

"This guy is the funniest, freshest voice in Texas mystery writing today. His work stands out like a DayGlo parka in deer season."—Rick Riordan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lightning ThiefHoly When televangelist Peter Boothe decides to build a megachurch on the banks of the Pedernales River, he thinks his biggest problem will be a few unhappy neighbors. However, when backhoe operator Hollis Farley unearths a rare fossil on the construction site---a discovery that could lead to plenty of embarrassing Darwinian publicity---the cover-up begins. Soon, Farley is dead, shot in the back with an arrow, and Game Warden John Marlin is asked to help with the case. What he and the local deputies find is a suspect list of biblical Could it have been the bitter geology professor? The private fossil collector with a somewhat unusual fetish? The minister’s wife who takes the Commandments rather lightly? Or the geriatric environmentalist with a mean right hook? Nothing is sacred in Rehder’s most laughable satire yet, a twisted tale of greed, corruption, infidelity, and, yes, paleontology.REVIEWS FOR HOLY “Rich with clever prose, oddball characters and laugh-aloud plot twists. The author, an Edgar Award finalist, is a sharp stylist with an engaging and frequently irreverent sense of humor.” — Dallas Morning News“For those suffering Carl Hiaasen withdrawals, Holy Moly might be the perfect poolside fix come summer.” — Texas Monthly“A tale of lust, power and greed that unravels at breakneck speed…Rehder’s characters are always memorable, as are his satirical plots. His style is entertaining and fun to read.” — San Antonio Express-News“Edgar-finalist Rehder’s sixth Blanco County (Tex.) mystery may be the best to date in this rollicking crime series. Rehder’s satirical take on greed, faith and foolishness moves at a swift clip, punctuated with dizzy twists and even bittersweet turns, like a good toe-tapping, country and western tune.” — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)“Ben Rehder in his hilarious Holy Moly places televangelists and the creationism vs. evolution debate under the microsope. [He] takes readers on an adventure into the multimillion-dollar realm of the televangelist on whose land the fossil was found, life in small-town Texas, and the inner workings of police investigation in the latest entry in this Edgar Award-nominated series. Combining sophisticated prose with down-home Texas crime, he leaves no part of Texas life untouched.” — Library Journal

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Humor, Crime, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Ben Rehder wanted to become a writer ever since he was dropped on his head as a toddler. As he grew into a young adult and the vertigo gradually dissipated, his passion for literature grew. Ben longed to craft the type of soul-stirring prose that would touch people’s lives and help them explore new emotional horizons. But he went to work at an ad agency instead.

Throughout his rewarding and fruitful career in the ad business, Ben has been known to write such imaginative and compelling phrases as “Act now!,” “Limited-time offer,” and “Compatible with today’s rapidly changing network environment.”

However, there eventually came a time when, as unbelievable as it sounds, writing brochures and spec sheets simply wasn’t enough to satisfy Ben’s creative urges. Ben knew: It was time to write a novel.

“But what kind of novel?” Ben asked himself, drawing stares from passersby.

A mystery? A thriller? A work of suspense? Ben had read hundreds of books in these genres and loved them all. But nothing had sparked his creative juices enough to try it himself.

Fate played a hand one day when Ben’s father-in-law tossed him a copy of a Carl Hiaasen novel. And then it hit him. It literally hit him, right in the forehead. When the swelling went down and Ben had a chance to read the book, he discovered a type of fiction he had never experienced before—the comic crime novel! He loved the wacky characters, the zany plots, the interesting writing that threw a good deal of humor into the mix.

So Ben set out to write his own novel. After many grueling minutes in front of a computer, Ben was proud to present Buck Fever. Like many best-selling classics, Buck Fever has lots and lots of verbs, prepositions, adjectives, and the occasional gerund. It was even nominated for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel!

Next came Bone Dry, Flat Crazy, Guilt Trip, Gun Shy, and Holy Moly. Best of all, Ben is now releasing the earlier novels in ebook format at the low low price of just $2.99. What a deal!

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series just gets better and better. As others have said it is Carl Hiaasen in Texas.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Take a sweet mystery you are starting to enjoy throw in smut like adults like animals in heat and what do you get? A desire to give a -5 and an unfinished book. Way to go Rehder. I am thankful there is only one book at the library by you. And here's to the future and hoping it will get lost by a patron and never found again. And to the past: Chuck it on my cannot finish shelf. There, I feel better.

[Libtechgurugoddess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for the April Death & Dessert book club meeting—our genre this month was Funny Bones in honor of April Fool's Day. Ben Rehder was a finalist back in 2003 for the Lefty Award for Most Humorous Mystery for the first book in his Blanco County mystery series, entitled "Buck Fever", so I thought this one (#6 in the series) would be pretty funny. I violated one of my major rules which is always to start at the beginning of a series and I'm sorry because this book might have been better if I didn't get so confused about who was whom during the story. Pretty good plot with lots of suspects, evil televangelists, a dinosaur skull, and all based in Texas. The fast-paced nuttiness of the story reminded me of Dave Barry's 2 novels, "Big Trouble" and "Tricky Business".

[Trever · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blanco County books are always fun. Blanco County books never quite really bowl me over. They're the hick version of "cozy mysteries" - Instead of little old ladies or B&B redecorators or cooking writers or whatever, we have Texas rednecks coping with the mystery of the week. This one is particularly fun, as it pokes a lot of satire at televangelism. When a rare dinosaur fossil is found on the site of a new megachurch complex, media embarrassment and murder ensues. Lightweight but enjoyable.

[Michele Minor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a cozy mystery with comedy moments. When backhoe operator Hollis Farley is found killed at his backhoe on the property of Peter Boothe’s new ministry location there are quite a few suspects that come up in the investigation and add that into the discovery of a fossil on the site that is worth a couple of million dollars there are plenty of suspects. This book in spite of being a mystery also has its comedic moments.

[William Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rehder's Blanco County series may be best appreciated by fans of mysteries, and especially those fans that reside in Texas. But the series has improved dramatically from book to book, and has not yet floundered in the predictability that besets so many books written serially.

[Alex DeBlois · Rating 4 out of 5]

With multiple plot lines and characters following those separately, it's obvious the author is expanding his techniques to create a whirlwind of excitement, letting those threads meander and expand, while still bringing them all back together for the finale. Blanco county just gets better.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captures the character of the Texas Hill Country like white on rice. Holy Moly is a mystery full of faints and hoodwinks. A quick, humorous, easy read.

[John Hoppe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started a little slow but picked up as it went along. The book had some fairly funny parts, not a bad read I would look into more books by this author.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rehder is like the Carl Hiaasen of Texas! Discovered that this is part of an ongoing series -- I'll surely read the others. Who doesn't like a fun read?

[Mylinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light, fun, cute. An easy read that poked a little fun along the way. Definitely going to look for more in this series.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Blanco County Special from the squirrelly characters of Ben Rehder's mind. Enjoyed this tale. Keep'em coming.

[Shannon Noonan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was kind of slow at the beginning, but the writing and story quickly improved. The book turned out to be a pretty good read.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeping the series strong

Ben Rehder has kept the series fresh. Could use a bit more humor and not sure why so little Red.

[Julie Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. This is book six in the series and you don't need to have listened to the previous books to enjoy it as each book is a stand alone. Like the rest of the books I did find the story jumps around as it is told by multiple characters and there are a lot of sub plots that you wonder how there are all connected, I don't think this has worked for every book because there is always a lot of new characters to get use too but it did work for this one and I found I enjoyed it. The mystery was interesting and I liked the dinosaur elements to the story as it made for an unusual story.
When Hollis Farley is found dead, game warden John Marlin is called in to help. Hollis was working on church grounds helping to build a new church for a televangelist when he made a discovery, a rare fossil. So who killed him? And why? Is some one connected to the church trying to keep the discovery a secret so the building work could carry on? Or was it a rare fossil collector that wanted the fossil for themselves? With a number of suspects will Marlin be able to find the killer before he is supposed to walk down the aisle?
The narrator was okay but I did find he did not have very much range with his voices and the characters tended to sound the same so you couldn't always tell you was speaking.

[Diane Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done

Well done, Mr Rehder! The characters were on point, and the timing between snippets of scene made me wish I didn't have to go to work. Very good building of the tension without dragging it out. Good use of humor....I do love visiting down home from time to time, even if I'm not from Texas. I love the balance of each character's good side with their flaws. Ya gotta love em!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had more twists and turns than a dirt road going up the side of a mountain. A light mystery with plenty of mayhem and comedy that leaves you guessing to the end about who really did it and what their motives were. Lots of red herrings scattered throughout the book. This is my first Ben Rehder novel and I hope to read more with this crazy cast of characters.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Format: audiobook
Narrator: Robert King Ross
This is a great series of books, I love the satire whatever the topic , this book sees TV evangelism front and centre.
The old favourites are all still there and my heart soared for Billy Don.
Very enjoyable, I look forward to listening to the next book.

[Kaiti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the writing style of this novel! It felt very natural and the story had me hooked! I was worried that I would get confused because there were several happening at once, but it was easy to keep track. The plot had plenty of twists that kept me guessing as to whoe the culprit was all the way until the end! I plan to check out other novels by Rehder in the future.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do enjoy these books. As usual, the characters are lively and varied. The reader follows the lead characters as they investigate and follow and reject one lead after another until they reach the correct conclusion, punctuated occasionally with comic relief.

[Claire Barfell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Televangelist Peter Boothe is a fraud and, along with his wife Vanessa, they become very rich by taking the donations for themselves. Also, a very valuable fossil is found on the site of the church they are building in Blanco County. There are two murders. Very fast paced and very funny.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fossils and religion is definitely a different combination. Then you add blackmail, murder and so much more leading yo a very interesting listen. I have enjoyed all the books in this series so far and will be listening to more in the future.

[KennyO · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Blanco County series as a whole and I choose from it when I need a break from my usual serious-minded library. Holy Moly is a bit milder that the previous volumes but there’s plenty here to put a smile on my face and some entertaining mystery twists.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

good story

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

the murder of one man became a big changle to a small town police department due to the fact that their w

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a good series. The characters are likeable, the story moves quickly and I love the way real justice is served. I rate this one 4.5 stars.

[andrew t shier · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Blanco County book is great fun and it has some hilarious characters. My one complaint is that there are soooo many characters that it's hard to keep them straight.

[Sarina Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

HILARIOUS!!

[JoLana Dietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun!