Fortunately, as new readers to this series--which included all gathered--we didn't feel as if we jumped in the middle of the series and had to play catch up. That's always appreciated (some incidents of previous crime cases were mentioned in passing mostly). The novel focuses on the death of an older woman, Helen Harris, in the community whose death appears accidental but the sheriff's gut feelings say otherwise. Why, for instance, did Helen's cat's show up at Dan's home when it is "strictly an indoor cat."
The longest section of our discussion covered the proper amount of police force to use when confronting a hostile situation. During two different times Rhodes is attacked with an improvised weapon (one much more deadly than the other) and the laid-back sheriff doesn't forcefully enough quickly quell the situation. That led to talk about a character flaw with Rhodes and the genuine need to overpower others. Rhodes tries peaceable methods but hesitates to use force and pays the price by getting banged up. In a more realistic setting, we couldn't imagine that could stay the case. Sadly, two mentioned how police may be confronted with deadly consequences when challenged by from defiant, angry individuals.
Another person noted in comparison a fictional female sheriff who had a different and more forceful attitude as being more suited for the position of sheriff.
All in all though, Rhodes tracks down a murder in a conclusion that puzzled one attendee just a little. He just found the reason for murder to be a little unclear and others responded with the character's motivations.
Writer Crider did provide a quick read for most in his an affable-styled writing. Clear and precise, one person noted an appreciation for repeating situations using different words and another for skipping repeatable dialogue. (Here's a pix of Crider from his blog I found on Google. He apparently writes nonstop--take a look at his website.)
Crider also provided a wonderfully, funny beginning for his book as I read the first four paragraphs about the cat "Sam" who wanders in and creates a home in Rhodes' house. Of course, he sneezes around it and his wife's reaction ("you're not really allergic to anything") is part of the dry humor in the story. Another found two anxious and needy deputies quite funny as Rhodes is surrounded at work by those easily-available, apparent busybodies.
In a quick informal poll, the book rated as a good, pleasant read and some began to read earlier books in the series.
