Bill Crider

Dr. Sally Good, head of the English and Fine Arts Division of the Hughes Community College in Texas, has her hands full. On top of dealing with the numerous complaints from testy faculty members concerning the allocation of the department's budget, she must also conduct an inquiry into the recent misbehavior of the department's philandering art professor, Val Hurley, who stands accused of molesting a young female student. And, then there is the complaint...

Sheriff Dan Rhodes of Blacklin County, Texas, is called to the Beauty Shack to find young Lynn Ashton murdered with a hair dryer. The owner said Lynn had gone to the salon late to meet a client, but no one knows who that client was. Since she was known to flirt, an angry wife or jilted lover might have had something to do with Lynn's death. Or was the killer a client who had confided something that was best kept secret?

"The local community college and an antique dealer team up to have a workshop for artists. One local man, Burt Collins, isn't fond of the art, and he isn't fond of having the artists in town. Sheriff Dan Rhodes is called to the antique store because Collins has been accused of vandalizing some paintings. When Rhodes arrives, two men are restraining Collins. But before Rhodes can take Collins into custody, a near riot breaks out. Rhodes gets the situation...

"Life is never easy for Sheriff Dan Rhodes. Even in a small Texas county, there's always something going on for a sheriff to look into, whether it's an attempted robbery, a marijuana patch guarded by an alligator, or a murder. This time the murdered man seems to be connected to a string of recent burglaries, but just how isn't easy to figure out. It takes some time and another murder before Sheriff Rhodes discovers the answers.Survivors Will Be Shot...

Texas sheriff Dan Rhodes tackles a final mystery involving an unidentified victim at a school demolition site, a band of dimwitted hoodlums, and a paranoid detective.