After being Sheriff of the small and dusty cattle town of
Hayward, Arizona for more than 12 years, Virgil Dalton is
used to, and likes his work and his ranch. His dad had
been
Sheriff before him, so he is familiar with the people. But
the winds are blowing more than the tumbleweed and crimes
are changing... not always for the good.
One of the biggest change involves this murder. Virgil
can
easily handle most murder investigations, but this is
strange. Buddy Hinton had few enemies, if any, and why
did
he end up killed? Besides, why did someone put his body
where they did? Is that a message?
As Sheriff Dalton gets increasingly mired in the murder
investigation and his small police force stretched to
their
limits, how can he protect his few and very scared
witnesses? Buddy often was a truck driver for the Hayward
family. Normally, Virgil is quite happy to steer clear of
them and especially from the very dominating and
autocratic
Audrey Hayward. Yet, small clues seem to point that way.
Is there a connection or is he being set up because of his
previous history with them? Just what is going on?
With this brilliant debut story, DEATH AT THE BLACK BULL,
author Frank Hayes brings a new western scene instantly to
life. Hayes definitely will have no trouble making his
readers long for more. Literally, right from the first
sentence, you are pulled immediately into Virgil's ranch
in
rural Arizona and stay totally hooked until you finally
are
able to put DEATH AT THE BLACK BULL down after its
shocking
and dramatic ending.
Hayes sets a sharp pace with fast changing plot
developments; yet, fills his masterfully told story with
rich and colourful dialogue and a strong and grittily
realistic sense of place. I especially like the tightness
of each chapter and his intriguing and often humourous
"got
ya" chapter endings.
Virgil Dalton, the main protagonist in DEATH AT THE BLACK
BULL is an awesome character. In addition to being
Sheriff,
Virgil is a hard working rancher, has a background as a
lawyer and law enforcement, and is half Native American
from his mother's side of the family. He stays connected
to
his dead mother's father and family members even if he
doesn't always visit. Meanwhile, he shares his home with
Cesar, his outspoken and quick with the comebacks, Mexican
lead hand. Their bantering back and forth is a treat and
almost worth the price of the book alone.
DEATH AT THE BLACK BULL is a great story and should appeal
to readers of all genders who enjoy a good mystery and/or
western based stories. In particular, fans of best-selling
author Craig Johnson are sure to recognize the full worth
of
Hayes' talent and will appreciate the strengths and
differences and styles of their respective honest and very
compelling professional Sheriffs as much as I do. I, for
one, definitely am relishing the enjoyment of knowing that
DEATH AT THE BLACK BULL is the start of a terrific and new
upcoming series by the very talented Hayes. Check it out!
You will be glad you did!
Hayward is a sleepy Southwestern town full of cattle,
trucks, and tumbleweeds. Virgil Dalton’s been the sheriff
for over a dozen years and has lived there all his life.
It’s a place where everybody pretty much knows everybody—
but
they don’t know each others secrets…
Buddy Hinton is just a good ole boy. So when he disappears
after a night drinking at the Black Bull, his friends just
figure he went down to Mexico to find himself a girlfriend
and eventually will come back. But this case quickly
becomes
a homicide after the sheriff discovers the missing man
floating in one of his stock tanks.
For a man who wasn’t known to have enemies, Buddy clearly
upset someone. Figuring out who that was will require
Virgil
and his deputy, Jimmy, to retrace Buddy’s last steps—and
to
remain a step ahead of a murderer who may have no qualms
about killing again …
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