San Juan Solution

by R.E. Derouin

Ex-police detective David Dean, his new wife and stepfather have just opened Bird Song, a bed and breakfast in beautiful Ouray, Colorado. When their first guest turns up dead, and the second fears she may be next, the trio becomes unwittingly involved in a bizarre search for a reluctant heir while trying to remain a step ahead of their bevy of guests - each with an entirely different agenda! Follow the Deans and inimitable Fred O'Conner as they sort through lawyers, Wall Street finance, the Internet, and the pristine forest and mountains of Western Colorado in search of the answers - and a determined killer.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 2000

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

[Cat. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. This is a self-published, unedited book if ever I've seen one, but all 5 Amazon reviews give it 5 stars. OK, it's NOT a five-star book, folks! But you can't blame a guy for trying, right? I'd volunteer to edit for him, but gosh--then I'd have to move there and wouldn't that be too bad!

[Here's a free hint: "...throws of passion..." is just WRONG! Unless you are talking about an Olympic javelin tosser who loves his sport.]

This is one of the books I bought on vacation in Ouray last month and the setting is very much Ouray. It is also a sequel. The original apparently takes place in Ouray as well, but the character, a former cop, doesn't live there yet. The beginning of this book sees him packing up his whole life and his new wife and moving from PA to CO. Quite a change...

But, the description of the area, and the atmosphere of Ouray (including names of stores and streets and trails that exist), are spot-on. The mystery is even passably decent, although it needs some polishing. The description of Jean-Jean, the "bad woman's" boy-toy is riotously funny. I wish I had a better sense of who the main circle of characters were, however. The sidelight ones are clearer to me than they are. And frankly the most interesting person in the book is the Ouray County Sheriff, who is peripheral.

This is a labor of love for this little corner of Colorado, and that shines through. So the guy's ok by me; I love that corner too. Just hire a proof-reader, ok?

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Average murder mystery in a beautiful setting - Ouray, Colorado.