Coyote Revenge

by Fred Harris

Booted out of law school, young Okie Dunn returns home to the warm prairie town of Vernon with high hopes for the future. He finds, though, that the friendly world he left behind is falling apart--and not just because of the Great Depression.

When his childhood friend, Sheriff Dub Ready, is killed, Okie takes over the job, swearing to bring the killer to justice. But just who wanted Dub dead and why? And was his murder linked to the mysterious, brutal deaths of his parents two years before?

Despite his best intentions, Okie discovers that upholding the law and finding the truth can be difficult, dangerous business, one that will pit him against lifelong friends, business associates, a cold-blooded killer...and even his own heart.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

Hardcover

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: booted out of law school, Okie Dunn goes home to Vernon. When his friend Sheriff Dub Ready is killed, he takes over the job. Not easy.

[Charles]

The setting is Oklahoma during the late 1930s. It is a time of great poverty, even the best jobs available barely pay enough to feed a family. Okie Dunn was a good student in high school, his grades and obvious talents were enough to get him admitted to law school. However, there was an unfortunate mishap and he was expelled. For some time, Okie made his living as a boxer, it was a scratch existence, but gave him valuable experience.
Back in his home town of Vernon, Oklahoma, Okie now trades in cattle and is establishing and solidifying old relationships. Two years earlier, a man and his wife were found shot in their house that had burned down. The local doctor was of questionable competence and the ruling was a murder suicide, with the killer torching the house before the self-inflicted fatal wound.
When Okie’s buddy that was the sheriff was shot in the back and killed, Okie is asked to take the position and he accepts. Other than his routine duties, Okie investigates the murder and during that process, he learns that the death of the couple was in fact a double murder. The location of the entry and exit wounds precluded that conclusion.
While the crime investigation is the prime plot device, the context of the story is also significant, as it is deep. Okie is close friends with the local Native Americans, there is the possibility of an oil strike, his father is a cantankerous man with wisdom and grudges and there are the constant reminders of how poor the people are. As a murder mystery, the story is just average, but as a historical context with supporting characters, it is first rate.

[Captain Curmudgeon]

Not that bad. Parts of it may be bad enough to have been written by Harris. Look at all those mysteries Margaret Truman "wrote." Ghost-written novels by politicians are common. Ghost-written everything by politicians is common. No one writes speeches anymore except speech writers.

[Cat.]

Set in Oklahoma in 1937. An interesting book for the characterization more than the plot (which I'd pretty well figured out). A snapshot of how people lived 60 years ago.

[Catherine]

Great book. I wish the author had written more.