Dead on the Fourth of July

by R.E. Derouin

David Dean's election bid for Sheriff of Ouray County, Colorado becomes complicated after ten-year-old Martha Boyd discovers a skeleton in an abandoned mine. He and his wife promise the girl they'll identify the remains, with the help of Dean's stepfather, Fred O'Connor, his computer, and his cadre of lady friends. It's high season at Bird Song, the Deans' bed and breakfast, when they discover among their guests a squabbling quartet in court over the ownership of the same mine-and Fred O'Connor is sitting on the jury! When the bones disappear, Dean runs into trouble with the new acting sheriff and the election gets nasty. Someone wants very badly for the skeleton to remain anonymous! And then, amid Ouray's festive Fourth of July activities, tragedy strikes. The towering mountains that surround the tiny town aren't as peaceful as they appear....

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

264 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2003

About the author

Raymond Derouin was born in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1937. He was an executive in the insurance industry before retiring after thirty years. He began writing stage plays, ultimately winning four national contests. In 1999 he introduced David Dean, a retired police detective. There are six mysteries in this series.

Crime Time, a stand-alone mystery, and Enough to Miss Christmas, a family love story were both released in 2013. Fridays, a fictional journal of a reclusive school teacher, was released in 2014.

Mr. Derouin and his wife of fifty years live in Mesa, Arizona where he is working on a new novel.

Reviews

[Jalayne]

This is merely a short mystery that I happened to find online while researching mystery stories online. It's a quick read, and the couple main characters have a nice dynamic between them. The town that they reside in gives off a nice vibe of a quaint, small-town. I enjoyed that aspects of business management played a role in the story with their small hotel. However, some of the guests mentioned throughout the story can get mixed-up for one-another. For example, I realize now that I mistook the criminal for another side character. Him and his wife share the type of marriage that most dream about. They obviously worry over one-another but also support each other in their dreams. The chapters were a good length. Some bits discussing the past about certain characters can seem boring so I skimmed them. Overall, I enjoyed the main characters and mini-mysteries tucked in through the plot. The only reason I didn't finish it way sooner is because I forgot for a week that I was reading it.

[Cat. · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, so these are self-published, but really-and-truly, every book is better in terms of writing, and the description of the city of Ouray and the scenery and history are well-done. I'm totally enjoying the series. In this one, David and Cynthia's pseudo-foster daughter is reunited with her recently-released-from-prison mother and removed to Denver, and the rest of the crew are in the midst of David's campaign for sheriff and a search for a missing skeleton while dealing with four very unpleasant B&B guests.

[Marbea Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dang now that's how you write a crime suspense novel!! I would've never figured it was Blake who switched the bones. I wonder now Dean got me thinking. Was Blake gay? Did he have feelins for his perverted uncle Blackie? If Ralph killed him,why Blake kept comin back year after year? Geez I also wonder why Pumpkin decided to really take on Billy's responsibility as the father of Melissa's baby? Wow this was a very good read!!