Just learned that the Dallas Morning News reviewed Lone Star Sleuths back in December. Here's what they had to say:
Texas is a state of many mysteries in 'Lone Star Sleuths'
ANTHOLOGY: Here's proof that savvy sleuthing can be found in our own back yard
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, December 16, 2007
By JANE SUMNER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
In the past, this mystery fan has turned to distant writers for a whodunit fix. Now I know that gems in the genre abound in our state. That revelation came with Lone Star Sleuths, the first book to herald the pleasures to be had reading Texas crime fiction.
For the maiden anthology, editors culled hundreds of Texas whodunits, most from the last 20 years. The result: atmospheric short excerpts from the works of 30 mystery writers, hard-boiled and cozy, acclaimed and rising stars.
More than a sampler, it's an overdue showcase for serious, clever, sometimes rambunctious talent who fracture clichés and face up to the state's dirty laundry. Primarily, though, the paperback emphasizes "Texas as a place in fiction."
In mysteries, editor Steven L. Davis says: "Setting is very important, more than plot or character, though character is a reflection of place." To help him detect writing with that sense of place, he recruited mystery experts Bill Cunningham and Rollo K. Newsom as editors.
From the Guadalupe Mountains in Nevada Barr's "Track of the Cat" to the Piney Woods in Walter Mosely's "Gone Fishin'," their choices largely reflect a real, not formulaic, Texas: its history, hazards, topography and weather.
The excerpts, some with professional snoops, some with curious volunteers, are grouped by geographic zone.
The final entry, mystery maven Mary Willis Walker's "The Red Scream," takes place in the death house at Huntsville.
For a change, our sleuths aren't all recovering alcoholics, cops or private eyes. Diverse as the state, they include a park ranger, herbalist, bird-watcher, librarian and stand-up comic.
Surely Joe R. Lansdale's "The Two-Bear Mambo" owns the oddest buddy Sherlocks – a straight, white, womanizing ol' boy and his gay, black, assertive Republican partner.
James Lee Burke loyalists like me would have tapped that author's Texas Ranger turned attorney Billy Bob Holland in "Cimarron Rose" and, though it's from another era, Elmer Kelton fans may wonder why his celebrated "Texas Ranger" series is missing.
Of course, not every selection entrances, but it was a real treat to meet award-winning veterans such as Rick Riordan and Jeff Abbott, to find gifted outsiders such as Ms. Barr, and to be reminded that Kinky Friedman may be a lousy pol, but in "Armadillos and Old Lace," he's an affecting, near-lyrical writer.
Though I'm no fan of blood sports, it's hard to believe that Ben Rehder, an authority on Texas deer-hunting culture, isn't also our funniest mystery writer. His "Buck Fever" fragment is choice. A.W. Gray's "Prime Suspect," targeting Fort Worth swells, and Paula Boyd's "Hot Enough to Kill at the Kickapoo Dairy Queen" aren't far behind.
This latest in the Southwestern Writers Collection's classy book series does what a good anthology should – send us running to read more of the works and authors excerpted in its pages.
Jane Sumner is an Austin freelance writer.
Lone Star Sleuths
An Anthology of Texas Crime Fiction
Edited by Bill Cunningham, Steven L. Davis and Rollo K. Newsom
(University of Texas, $24.95)
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