Buck Fever: A Blanco County Texas Novel - Hardcover

Rehder, Ben

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312291140 ISBN 13: 9780312291143

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2002

Synopsis

Blanco County, Texas: It's the week before deer hunting season, as close to a statewide holiday you get in Texas, and the locals are getting restless. Red O'Brien and Billy Don Craddock aren't the only good ol' boys out at night spotlighting deer from their pickups, trying to get a jump on the hundreds of hunters that will be out come Saturday. Game Warden John Marlin has his hands full with poaching complaints coming in faster than he can write out-of-season tickets. Then a call of a different sort comes in. A man dressed up in some sort of deer costume has been shot at the Circle S ranch, and witnesses are reporting a massive wild-eyed buck deer prancing about the pasture in a lovesick frenzy.

Marlin's seen a lot in his years, but this is wilder than he could have imagined: the man in the deer suit is a good friend, and the whacked-out whitetail isn't exactly a stranger either. It's the beginning of a mad, frantic weekend in Blanco County, one that will see a few more men shot, an invasion by Colombians with more than hunting on their minds, and damn near the end of Marlin's life. Newcomer Ben Rehder serves it all up with a huge helping of humor in this comic mystery that will firmly establish him as the funniest crime writer in Texas.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Shooting praise for Buck Fever
"This is a wild and crazy first novel, crowded with weird people, unusual relationships (both animal and human), and frequent humor that will appeal to fans of Carl Hiaasen, Tim Dorsey, and other comic mystery writers. Strongly recommended."-Library Journal (starred review)

"Briskly paced, amusing, spiced with deftly drawn good-old-boy portraits: an altogether promising debut."-Kirkus Reviews

"Buck Fever is a dripping-cold long-neck and a smoldering pile of spent double-aught shells. This one slithers, shakes and strikes like a diamondback. Don't miss it."-Tim Dorsey, author of Florida Roadkill and Triggerfish Twist

"[A] promising debut. . . comes within shooting distance of Hiaasen and Leonard territory."
-Booklist

"A funny, nightmarish tale from the Texas Hill Country, where being a game warden might be harder than being a cop."-Jamie Harrison, author of Blue Deer Thaw

"Ben Rehder's Buck Fever is absolutely the epitome of hunting camp jabber. I was going to write a book exactly like this, then he stole the idea and beat me to the printer."
-TJ Greaney, The Outdoor Zone Radio Show

From the Back Cover:

Blanco County, Texas.
It's one week before the start of deer hunting season, and everyone in town has come down
with a case of...

Buck Fever

The fury begins with Red O'Brien and Billy Don Craddock, two drunken poachers who fire a shot in the direction of Blanco County's most important resident: a wide-eyed, white-tailed deer named Buck who lives on the Circle S ranch. Now Buck is on the loose, and no one knows where to find him: not Trey Sweeney, the man who took the bullet meant for Buck, albeit right in the flank of his own deer costume; not Tim Gray, the veterinarian who can't function very long without popping a few canine tranquilizers; and especially not Roy Swank, owner of the Circle S, who wants desperately to find Buck for reasons no one can quite understand. Navigating all this turmoil is Blanco County Game Warden John Marlin, with a little help from his best friend Phil and a beautiful nurse named Becky who seems too good to be true. But when a dead body turns up, the real mystery in madcap Blanco County soon boils down to a single question: Just who is hunting whom?

About this edition

• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0312291140
• ISBN 13: 9780312291143
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272