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Summary
Summary
When private eye Ted Stephens visits hot and humid Losgrove, Mississippi, in the summer of 1970, he's not there for the mint juleps. He's investigating an insurance scam for his employer in Houston. It should be a routine job. But what happens is far from routine, and Stephens finds himself involved in a mysterious death - and small-town secrets that everyone wants to keep under cover.Everyone's hiding something, from the lawyer representing some supposedly injured men tothe waitress at the local café. Stephens can't be sure that even the local sheriff is being straight with him.Before long there's another death, and this time it's murder for sure. Stephens doesn't have any business getting involved. It's none of his business, even if it does appear connected to his case, and he'd prefer to stay out of things. An attempt on his own life, however, convinces him that he'd better find the killer before he winds up buried in the Mississippi soil along with all the town's secrets.This fast-paced historical mystery pits the wisecracking Stephens against a whole town full of oddball characters, especially a killer who wants to stop him before he brings all the town's secrets to light.Bill Crider is the author of more than fifty novels. He is the winner of the Anthony Award and has been nominated for both the Shamus and Edgar Awards.Clyde Wilson was a legendary Texas private eye. He worked with the famous and the infamous. One of his cases was the basis for two true-crime books and a made-for-TV movie. He passed away in October 2008.
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Anthony-winner Crider's laconic down-home humor suffuses his colorful second collaboration with celebrated Texas PI Clyde Wilson, who died in 2008 (after 2007's Houston Homicide). In the summer of 1970, a possible insurance scam takes Houston PI Ted Stephens to Losgrove, Miss., where he meets Mississippi Vivian, a waitress at the Magnolia Cafe, the town's nerve center. A corporate client, the National Insurance Company, is skeptical of 12 suspicious claims originating from Losgrove. Ted asks Mississippi for her help, but the possibly self-inflicted shooting death of one of the claimants, Perce Segal, at the house of another claimant, Wade Dickie, complicates his mission. What should be a simple case of insurance fraud becomes increasingly more sticky when Wade turns up dead only a couple of hours after Ted had a fight with Wade. The authors get the Southern atmosphere and period details right in this funny, country-fried mystery. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
In 1970, Losgrove, Mississippi, wouldn't seem to be a hotbed of crime. It's a sleepy burg in which the Magnolia Café serves as the community center, and its proprietor, Mississippi Vivian, is the filter for all gossip and news. Ted Stephens, a Houston private eye, is working for National Insurance. The company suspects a worker's disability scam with a dozen or so citizens an inordinate number in such a small town receiving payments. Stephens is a stranger and viewed with suspicion by the citizenry. His only ally is Vivian; she feeds Ted info and meatloaf. Both have a fixed price. Ted suspects a recent death may be related to the scam and thinks a cover-up is in place. Soon enough, Ted's life is in danger, and another body turns up. Crider, an award-winning master of the small-town whodunit, is at the top of his game here, with the low-key Stephens and the acerbic Vivian providing some classic repartee. Quite enjoyable with a puzzler of a plot and satisfying conclusion.--Lukowsky, Wes Copyright 2010 Booklist