This was a fun read, as most of the books in the David Wolf series are. Wolf is loaned out by Sheriff Patterson to nearby Crow County where a young man, early twenties, is dead from a gunshot wound to the head, pants down around his ankles. It appears as if the body has been moved in the victim's truck, and the truck has been left in a semi hidden location. The deceased happens to be the son of the county sheriff, which he visits he's Wolf's participation. Sheriff Mustaine was a year older than Wolf in high school, and as rivals, the football teams played each other, with Wolf as quarterback subjected to many defensive hits from Mustaine. Mustaine went on to play ball in college, but blew out his knee just after being drafted.He returned to Crow County and went into law enforcement while Wolf was in the army.
Plain and simple, Mustaine is a narcissistic bully, abusing his son and co-workers, probably his absent wife too. The loss of his son seems to tip his behavior into the psychotic. Rather than excuse himself from the investigation, Mustaine goes on rampage, physically and verbally abusing potential witnesses without observing law enforcement procedure, such as warrants, etc. It takes a physical confrontation byetween him and Wolf and his subsequent arrest before any progress gets made on the case. The entire department works to contain Mustaine in normal circumstances, when he's out of his mind with anger and grief its a departmental crisis.
Eventually, with bravery from Wolf and the other deputies and under sheriff of Crow County, the case is solved. Wolf is wounded while rescuing hostages, and a man dies. Another nearly looses his life. Despite being hurt, Wolf finally has some positive news in his romantic life. It'll be interesting to see where the next book in the series takes Wolf.