THE WILD HOG MURDERS

Welcome to Blacklin County, Texas, where hogs run wild, and murder hogs the spotlight.

Wild hogs—big, fast, evil-tempered 300-pounders—are endemic to Blacklin County and anathema to Sheriff Dan Rhodes, who’s had issues with them in the past, always to his detriment. He yearns for a permanent disconnect. But when the stolen car he’s pursuing is also being chased by a furious porker, what can a self-respecting lawman do, especially if he’s interested in re-election? He must rise to the challenge. As Rhodes puts it, “That’s why they pay us the big bucks”—a mantra he learned the hard way. And so it goes in Blacklin County, and has gone for 18 novels (Murder in the Air, 2010, etc.). The ill-fated car thief’s narrow escape from death by enhanced pig is only temporary, it turns out. He’ll soon enough meet his maker with a bullet in his chest, followed by more corpses. The egregious Milton Munday, a radio talk-show host with an avid audience, takes note, warns of a murder spree and wonders snidely if Sheriff Dan is up to keeping his constituents safe. Enter a celebrity bounty hunter seeking publicity, a has-been biker seeking revenge and a pair of edgy animal protectionists seeking enemies. Clearly it’s business as usual in Blacklin County, land of the relentlessly eccentric and the colorfully homicidal. Forget the wayward plotting and enjoy laconic, sardonic Sheriff Dan at the top of his game.