Buffalo Bill's Defunct

Latouche County Mystery #1

by Sheila Simonson

Sheriff's investigator Rob Neill made a mess of his first case, the theft of sacred artifacts belonging to the Klalo, a Native American tribe from the western end of the Columbia River Gorge. Ten years later, a stolen petroglyph emerges-along with a body buried in a garage. Neill sees a chance to redeem himself, with the help of his new neighbor, librarian Meg McLean. Her information-retrieval skills work together with the police investigation-but the partnership threatens to turn unprofessionally romantic. Meanwhile, two more people are murdered, and the Klalos' feisty chief, Madeline Thomas, has her own agenda that seems to hinder as much as help. Can a kind of justice finally come to Latouche County?

Genres: Mystery

275 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2008

About the author

Ms. Simonson writes mysteries and romantic fiction, and lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Reviews

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series. There were a couple slow spots but all in all it was a good read. I was slightly disappointed that the librarian main character never went to the library, I hope that changes in the next book in the series as she actually should start work. This book was her "move to the area and get settled" story. I also love the cop, he's not super gorgeous, not super smart, and not, thus, a stereotype. He's a competent cop with a good sense of his job and thus good at it - a nice change of pace. Oh, and the mystery was fun too - I didn't see the solution coming until late in the story. I'll be looking for the next in the series.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is rather average; the characters seem one-dimensional and bland. I thought Meg McLean, the new head librarian, acted older than 40-something. Rob Neill, a sheriff's investigator, was a very bland figure who moved the action along.

Ten years earlier, in his first case, Rob had not caught the thieves (or recovered the items) of some sacred objects of the Klalo tribe (from the Columbia River Gorge). Now, when the new librarian moves into the house she has bought, she finds human remains in the garage. While Rob is trying to find the murderer of this victim, two more people die.

I didn't buy why Rob deputized Meg. This just wasn't all that interesting, although it could have been. I'm sure stealing Indian holy ground artifacts are a serious problem in certain regions of the US but the author kept the whole thing sounding blah.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meg Mclean moves to fictional “Latouch County” in the Columbia River gorge to begin a new job as a small-town librarian. When a body is uncovered in her garage she and her new neighbor Rob Neill, sheriff’s investigator, must follow the clues to solve not only the murder but a ten-year-old theft of native archaeological artifacts. With interesting Pacific Northwest ambience and some well-drawn characters the book suffers from stereotyped characters and a less than convincing plot.

[Sarah Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it a lot for the playful humor and the vivid characters. Character is the key to sorting through the motivations and alliances of perpetrators, witnesses, competing investigators, and community at large. Grief, loyalty, greed, snobbery, and love all play a role. I like a book about people and relationships, and that was true of this book. I was interested in the issue of archaeological looting and the relationship of the tribe to the community.

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remembered Sheila Simonson's books being more involving than this book is. I never felt I was very involved with the characters, I always felt distant from them. I liked them, but I really wanted a lot (A LOT) more backstory on how the two main characters got to this place at this time for this story to evolve.

[Rebecca Smucker · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is your basic whodunit. Interesting for me were the setting, in rural Washington state, and the somewhat contrived effort to make a librarian the heroine who solves a murder. Adequately written, good for summer or airport reading.

[Lynn Calvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

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