Where Armadillos Go to Die

by James Hime

Overview

Sylvester Bradshaw owns the Bouree restaurant, home of the best catfish within a hundred miles of Brenham, Texas. Besides being known for his cooking and for being one of the town's nastiest residents, he also happens to have invented a machine that several venture capitalists and one former NFL star would like to invest in at almost any cost. But Bradshaw—-stubborn and miserly—-can't be enticed no matter what offer they put on the table. Nobody gets a look and nobody gets to know how the device works, not even his family.

When the restaurant is ransacked and he goes missing, the only person willing to take his disappearance seriously is Jeremiah Spur. The retired Texas Ranger and rancher is a dedicated customer, if not a friend, which makes him the only man on whom the Bradshaws can pin their hopes.

James Hime's Where Armadillos Go to Die eloquently captures the voice and spirit of a small Texas town with troubles every bit as big as the whole state, making for some of the most engaging crime fiction on bookshelves today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312534868
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/24/2009
Series:	Jeremiah Spur Mysteries , #3
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.46(w) x 9.80(h) x 1.18(d)

About the Author

James Hime's electrifying debut, The Night of the Dance, was a finalist for the Edgar Award for best first novel. Born in Arkansas, he lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife and their golden retriever. Where Armadillos Go to Die is his third novel.

Editorial Reviews

Jim Hime does for Texas what Pelecanos does for Washington, makes it live and breathe. Jeremiah Spur, retired Ranger, a part pitch-perfect for Tommy Lee Jones, slow-burns off the page till he literally blisters into your heart.” —Ken Bruen, author of London Boulevard

“A small-town story of a too-big idea. A Texas tale of good green turned to greed. And a would-be American tragedy averted—-thanks to Jeremiah Spur. It’s a comfort to know James Hime is back—-and that Spur is still on duty.” —Theresa Schwegel, Edgar Award-winning author of Last Known Address

“Set a chair up in that wide spot in the road and put your feet up. You're about to enjoy the pitch-perfect magic of James Hime, that raconteur from the Birthplace of Texas where red-blooded, catfish-loving characters meet high-tech greed. Where Armadillos Go to Die, the third in the Jeremiah Spur series, is a shot of pure black coffee straight to the vein.” —Louise Ure, Shamus Award—winning author of Liars Anonymous

“Beautiful writing, memorable characters, seamless dialogue, and a timely and original story, tough and gritty as a Texas landscape, Jim Hime writes with a careful touch, an original voice, and unexpected tenderness. A gem.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha-winning author of Air Time

“Rarely, we pick up a mystery where the setting is pleasingly unfamiliar, the plot is rewardingly intricate, the characters walk and talk as big as life, and where the whole book, line by line, is written, not typed or input or dictated. Such a book is James Hime's Where Armadillos Go to Die. You can't call Armadillos a romp because the whole damned thing reads like a victory lap around nearby Thunderhill Raceway.” —Hershel Parker, author of Melville

“Grade: A. James Hime's novels are as Texas as a squashed armadillo by the side of the road, but lots more fun. His second, fast-paced whodunit . . . speaks with a twang and brings a sleepy place called Brenham to life.” —Rocky Mountain News on Scared Money

“Hime sets 'em up and knocks 'em down with élan in this edgy thriller sophisticated enough to sprawl from the cafés of Vienna to the alleys of Brenham without skipping a beat.” —Texas Monthly on Scared Money

“Colorfully written and marked by a compassionate knowledge of how small towns operate, Mr. Hime's debut novel is enjoyable and exciting.” —The Dallas Morning News on The Night of the Dance

“Terrific—-that’s what this book is.” —The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) on The Night of the Dance

“There's a new sheriff in town when it comes to Texas crime writing, and his name is James Hime.” —Harlan Coben on The Night of the Dance

From the Publisher

In Edgar-finalist Hime's fine third mystery to feature retired Texas Ranger and “perennially struggling cattle rancher” Jeremiah Spur (after 2004's Scared Money), the veteran lawman finds himself in the center of a flurry when the daughter of restaurateur Sylvester Bradshaw asks him to look into her father's disappearance. Brenham, Tex., is a small town where plenty of people have large ambitions, including the missing Bradshaw, whose precious food processing secret is protected even from his own sons, Mark and Luke. Bradshaw's fate and the fate of his invention hold the key to the futures of his sons, a doctor, a couple of lawyers, a retired NFL pro, the current sheriff, an ambitious prosecutor and the Texas Aggies' hopes for a football championship. Hime nicely blends broad humor and sharp characterizations, while Spur's mellow approach to investigation contrasts starkly with the blatant self-interest of most everybody else. (Dec.)\

Publishers Weekly

In his third outing (after The Night of the Dance and Scared Money), retired Texas Ranger Jeremiah Spur and friends go about sorting out the disappearance of a small Texas town's most disliked restaurateur. Did Sylvester Bradshaw vanish because of the E. coli poisoning that resulted from his famous catfish dish, or did it have something do with an invention that interested several venture capitalists? Readers will have fun watching Spur work it all out. VERDICT Like Bill Crider, Edgar Award finalist Hime demonstrates the same knack for telling a good story while peopling his mysteries with endearing characters. [Library marketing.]

Library Journal

Bagged baby spinach nurtures a strain of E. coli. Everyone hates racist, skunk-mean Sylvester Bradshaw, but everyone eats at his restaurant anyway, because Bourre has the best catfish restaurant in Texas. The night Sylvester disappeared, his office was ransacked and his property stolen. The customers included an ex-DA, a former deputy sheriff and a retired Texas ranger, Jeremiah Spur, along with his wife Martha. Current Sheriff Dewey Sharpe, preoccupied with keeping his erectile dysfunction a private matter, is only marginally interested in Sylvester's whereabouts, but Spur, approached by the vanished man's daughter, finds that the case offers a respite from worrying about his wife's E. coli hospitalization. In the waiting room, Spur meets Sylvester's lawyer, Robert Bruni, now representing the Bradshaw sons and dealing with his baby girl's E. coli infestation. Sylvester remains missing, but his severed thumb quickly surfaces, provoking the possible indictment of Texas A&M's surefire Heisman contender, the legal waffling of p.i. Clyde Thomas, the political ambitions of DA Sonya Nichols and more. This being Texas, matters culminate in an over-the-top shootout, a confession so full of regional jargon that it reads like a foreign language and a triumph over E. coli that lends love a country-western air. You might not want to live in Brenham, Texas, but its lively, unconventional characters and authorial brio (Scared Money, 2004, etc.) guarantee a few hours of blissful escapism.

Kirkus Reviews