The third book in the series featuring Sheriff Jules Clement set once more in Blue Deer, Montana, comes across better than the earlier ones to me. AN UNFORTUNATE PRAIRIE OCCURRENCE suggests that the crime was not greatly regarded in its day. This 1990s look at a small town has to take a further step back, as a cold case is uncovered – literally.
Previously I was new to town, blown in with the fierce Montana wind. That gusty wind has increased by this autumnal story, blowing trucks over on the interstate. But by now, I am familiar with Blue Deer, its central locations and its steadfast inhabitants. I know that newcomers mix with old sods, families have been here for a hundred years, and there are few single women. Jules was formerly trained as an archaeologist, and I had wondered what the author’s point was in bringing him to Absaroka County. Finally, Jules gets to exercise his skillset with the discovery of a buried skeleton on an island in the brisk river. Half the bank eroded, with some of the bones. Jules knows the man is long-legged, with a mended ankle. Otherwise, he’s going on a belt buckle and fair hair.
The overworked police department does everything from cautioning rowdy trick-or-treaters to breaking up domestic disputes. They are also called to the scenes of violent assaults on women by a serial predator. Jules and his new officer Caroline Fair are determined to catch this vicious man. The knitting in of smaller cases serves to explain why the police, waiting for expert reports or statements from folks who are currently out of town, can’t spend all week on any case.
Amusingly, the elderly ladies of the town's newly formed historical society and museum are being asked to identify anyone who might have gone missing before WW2. That’s how old the bones may be, so much chatter and old gossip is raked up, but nobody wants to incriminate family members. Their folks still live here and hold good jobs. There’s a running issue of some old museum trunks that can’t be opened; I kept hoping Jules would get to those, as this had to be a major clue. Instead, he goes to a 50th wedding anniversary party, and he later discovers a tragic scene with yet another body to investigate.
I consider the final scene unnecessary and any pet lover will probably agree. Otherwise, AN UNFORTUNATE PRAIRIE OCCURRENCE seems the best book by Jamie Harrison, with one more to go. The rugged, low-tech crime series is addictive and full of larger-than-life characters.
It’s the fall season in Blue Deer, and Jules is once again up to his crooked grin in trouble. A camper’s discovery of old bones threatens to expose secrets long and deliberately buried in the hearts and minds of the town’s eldest citizens. Jules’s investigation mushrooms into a nightmare of long-simmering enmities, love affairs, arson, and murder.
An Unfortunate Prairie Occurrence continues the exploits of Sheriff Jules Clement in this exciting installment of the critically acclaimed mystery series.
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