Anyone who likes small-town Midwest crime stories – provided the tales are gritty, unsavoury and bitter – will want to pick up the four-part series featuring Sheriff Jules Clement. The opening novel is THE EDGE OF THE CRAZIES, an all-encompassing title for the landscape, people and relationships.

Montana's Crazy Mountains dominate the scenery and cause much of the weather during this early summer visit. The town of Blue Deer, Absaroka County, off the beaten track, hosts an uneasy mix of old-time residents, newcomers and returnees. A past sheriff was the father of returnee Jules Clement, who came home with a doctorate in archaeology and a basis in criminal law. This is still his first term in the elected role, and the usual chaos of skunks, stray livestock, teenage antics and stolen vehicles suits the small department. Until a screenwriter, George Blackwater, is shot while he works at his computer. George's estranged wife, Mona, and his brother Ray, who inherited a family home, are potential suspects, but the motive is not obvious. George insists on leaving the hospital when he’s recovered, and there aren’t enough officers to guard him. The reader knows it’s only a matter of time until some other drastic incident occurs. 

The people are strongly drawn, but I didn’t find anyone really likeable. I have read some mysteries about female sheriffs, who face extra challenges such as size and getting taken seriously, but Jules just toughs out his days, so we don’t have much reason to feel sympathy. He starts to have relationships and the reader is thinking, that was pretty sudden! So was that! Does he even know if this is compromising him or the investigations? He also drinks spirits before getting back in his car, yet tells others not to drive while drunk. Jules is still learning how to be a major crime investigator, and the time period being the late 1990s means some tech is available like CCTV and other tech is not. The library and newspaper are reliable sources of past information. There is a lot to like, and I’ll be interested in the rest of the series.

THE EDGE OF THE CRAZIES has an explosive start and gets more muddled and grimy as it continues. Hard work isn’t easy, and Jules and the rest of the overworked officers have to deal with a flood on top of everything else.  Don’t you love Montana in the summertime?