Rattlesnake crossing

Sheriff Joanna Brady is having a really bad week. Who would shoot a water pump and two cattle? Then she starts finding the bodies‘first the gun dealer with a plastic bag over his head, then a young graduate student, carefully buried under a cairn of stones, and, not far away, the missing wife. Worst of all, the victims have been scalped. Jance is a popular author (e.g., Name Withheld, Audio Reviews, LJ 6/15/96), but this book has serious construction problems, mostly in the secondary plot lines. Joanna's romantic involvement with former bar owner Butch Dixon heats up as he shops, cooks, and patiently waits for his lady love's attention. And with a serial killer on the loose, who would take an entire day off to comfort a friend with a dying child? Oh well, friendship is more important. In fact, the final scenes are a sentimental ode to friendship and family, especially the (many) dead. Yancy Butler reads well, using her voice to smooth out a book with too many killings and too many distractions. The end product is moderately amusing, but libraries looking for a Vance audiobook should purchase an earlier title. Recommended only for the largest popular audio collections.‘I. Pour-El, Iowa State Univ., Ames (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.