^#smrgSAHAF Bone Dry: A Blanco County, Texas, Novel - 2003

Life can get a little wild from time to time for John Marlin, the game warden in Blanco County, Texas. For instance, Marlin didn't even bat an eyelash when a local resident's amorous encounter with a white-tailed deer came to light last year-on videotape. Aside from that, however, few incidents compare to the stories flying around town at the start of this new deer season.

Hunters all over the county are reporting an incredible sight: a six-foot-tall, drop-dead gorgeous blonde is roaming the woods, searching out camouflage-clad men with guns and disarming them with powers of seduction the likes of which none of them have ever come across before. Of course, the last time any of these guys was seduced was by the cover of the Victoria's Secret catalog, so Marlin wonders if the reports are a bit exaggerated.

Everyone has some hearty laughs at the expense of a few embarrassed hunters, until one of their own turns up dead in the woods. Now Marlin has a real mystery to deal with. Meanwhile, rumors are spreading about a new Blanco resident, an ex-New Yorker named Sal Mameli who's ruffling feathers with his loud mouth and his penchant for getting his own way, no matter what the cost. Before long, John Marlin realizes he may be the only sane man in town, and he's starting to wonder if he can last much longer himself. It's just the start of another unforgettable hunting season in Bone Dry, the hilarious second novel from Edgar finalist Ben Rehder.