The Prairie Chicken Kill

A Truman Smith Mystery, Book 4

By: Bill Crider

Narrated by: Otis Jiry

From Publishers Weekly

In this enjoyable fourth series entry, Galveston PI Truman Smith (When Old Men Die, 1994) is hired by Lance Garrison, his still unpleasant but now rich high-school classmate, to investigate the shooting of a prairie chicken (really a kind of grouse) on Garrison's federally protected land in Picketville, Tex. Smith reluctantly agrees, largely because his high-school sweetheart, Anne Lindeman, now lives in Picketville. A prime suspect is Ralph Evans, an antigovernment local talk-radio host who declares his concern for endangered species by advertising Spotted Owl in a Can.

When Smith and Anne's father-in-law, Red Lindeman, explore the scene of the crime, a sniper in a crop duster opens fire on them - a "fly-by shooting", Smith calls it. Then Anne's husband, manager of the radio station, is shotgunned to death. Police chief Ward Peavy eventually charges local birdwatcher Martin York.

When Smith discovers that a previous prisoner died in Peavy's jail, the big picture takes shape. Truman Smith would rather laze in his lawn chair, sipping Big Red and reading Tobacco Road, but when he gets on a case, he's methodical. So's Crider, who fashions a tight plot filled with laconic charm and idiosyncratic characters.

Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

If y'all are lookin' for a real fine read, Crider's your man. He writes one mean murder mystery, and his walkin' tall hero, Truman Smith, is as smart and as tough as they come. Plus Crider knows just how that East Texas good-ol'-boy talk sounds. This time out, Truman gets suckered into one of the craziest cases of all time. Lance Garrison, someone Tru went to high school with and didn't much like, wants Tru to investigate the death of a prairie chicken. Yep, that's right. A bird. But a rare, exotic bird. Lance thinks there's some government plot or maybe a loony-toons nut behind the prairie chicken's death. Tru agrees to investigate, partly for the $500-a-day fee and partly because he'll be in close proximity to Anne Lindemann, the still-beautiful high-school sweetheart who ditched him for Lance years earlier. For pure fun and sheer entertainment, it doesn't get much better than Crider's Tru Smith stories. Highly recommended.

©1996 Bill Crider (P)2013 David N. Wilson

3.5/5 Stars

Summary:
Truman Smith is hired by a former classmate, Lance Garrison, to investigate a prairie chicken killed on protected land. He kind of doesn’t want to take the case, but does so because he has a thing for a different former classmate, Anne.

Additional Comments:
• If you read the back cover copy, you have pretty much the entire story.
• The end isn’t really satisfying.
• Law enforcement in the book is either incompetent or corrupt, which is annoying.
• It’s a first-person book, but I don’t find Truman Smith a very likable character, which kind of made the book less enjoyable. He’s old school, pavement pounding type of detective.
• The excitement is okay, but the rest is a lot of navel gazing.
• The narrator did fine job. He doesn’t have the best range of voices, but it’s okay with this kind of story.

Conclusion:
I may try other Bill Crider books, but this one ends up in the meh pile.
*I found it on a free code site. I have freely chosen to provide my thoughts on the work.

Good

Mayhem and murder well done and enjoyable. When one is an investigator who knows what you will be pulled into
Good narration. Given audio for my voluntary review

Prairie Chicken

This is a short western around five hours. There is a bird (Prairie Chicken) that's been killed. There almost extinct. Truman is called from someone who knows him to investigate it. Truman likes a woman that lives in the same town so that's another reason to take the case. Also the money. There is a good ending. Otis Jiry does a good job narrating this book. If my review is any help will you please click on the helpful link below. Thank you.