The Evolution of the Series (9) Cold Fury

[This plot was inspired by a Greek myth and a local murder mystery.]

All the main characters in the series have evolved, but none so much as Ron Guidry, who began as somewhat of a stock character in Secret Song (RC #4). In that novel, he is a burnout cop from New Orleans with a drinking problem who has washed up in Hawthorn County. He doesn’t fit in, being irreverent and acerbic, but he has years of valuable experience as a homicide detective. He is jealous, both of Richard’s position and wife.

Gradually, however, we come to realize that his brash manner is partly a cop’s emotional armor and his attempts to counterpunch fate. By the end of the story, he becomes a friend as well as a colleague for Richard. In later stories, he becomes part of the informal extended family that Jill gathers.

Readers of the series will be familiar with Guidry’s irreverent wit, cynical perspective on the world, personal tragedy, and soft spot for women, whether they be ones he admires (like Jill), victims of crime and tragedy (like Raven, introduce in Canaan Camp #3), victims of their own choices (like Shannon in Cold Fury #9), or “damsels in distress” (like Woodie Koeltz in Road Shrines #8). At first, just someone Richard can bounce ideas off of, he becomes a sort of sidekick. Guidry has sold so much of himself (he has torpedoed both his career and personal life), that he feels free to do what must be done regardless of the consequences. I find him very useful. He can do things that Richard cannot. (Check out what happens to Arley in The King Snake #5)

One of the most interesting things about Guidry’s character is that his cynicism and hard-edged manner are inextricably woven with an idealism (of sorts) and great compassion. Ron Guidry is not sophisticated, but he is smart. He is neither soft-spoken nor politically-correct, but he is soft-hearted and surprisingly open-minded. Like Richard, he displays a type of chivalry that leads to unintentional (and unconscious) sexism. If this seems inconsistent and incomprehensible, that is Ron Guidry's essence.


In Cold Fury, Guidry meets this guy, and follows a lead that takes him out of Hawthorn County and off the grid.