What do you think?
Rate this book
Truman Smith Private Eye #3
When Old Men Die
Truman Smith is happily fishing off a Galveston pier when his friend Dino seeks him out and asks for some help: Outside Harry, an old-timer with connections to Dino's family, is missing. Smith doesn't want to have anything to do with it; the last time he looked for a missing person the outcome left something to be desired. But Dino has a way of being persuasive, and Tru promises to give it a day or two. When the first person he questions is murdered, and when he himself is shot at, Truman Smith is reminded of all the reasons he hates missing person cases. But he's committed now: Outside Harry's life is in his hands, and Smith is going to see to it that if Harry has any secrets he wants to tell, he won't have to take them to an early grave.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1994
About the author
Bill Crider
242 books235 followersTaught English at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Tex., and went on to become the chair of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College in Alvin, Tex.; prolific writer of mystery, science fiction, western, horror, and children's books, not to mention short stories, articles, reviews, and blog posts; perhaps best known for his Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery series.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Want to Read
September 22, 2015This copy is signed by the author Bill Crider. The book also contains an original letter from Bill Crider, on his personalized stationary also signed by him.
January 17, 2022
The 3rd Truman Smith novel has Tru looking for a homeless man on the island who seems to have disappeared.
December 22, 2017
Bill Crider is best known for his Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery novels, but his work is not limited to any one genre or style. His Dan Rhodes mysteries are a mixture of hardboiled and whodunit with a touch of humor to keep it fresh. Mr. Crider also wrote a series of novels featuring part-time and usually unwilling private investigator Truman Smith.
The third Truman Smith novel, WHEN OLD MEN DIE, finds Truman putting the disappearance and murder of his sister behind him. He has a steady job with a bail bondsman in Galveston, Texas, and as the novel opens he is approached by Dino, one of his oldest pals, to find a homeless man called Outside Harry.
Outside Harry is a fixture around town. One of a group of homeless that are there, but rarely seen and Truman is a little dubious of the whole setup. He can’t figure why Dino wants to find Outside Harry and Dino’s explanation that Harry was his friend doesn’t wash. But Smith owes Dino and he commits to look for Harry over the weekend. It takes only a few hours for Truman to find trouble followed by more trouble, until he has to either solve the case or get out of Galveston.
WHEN OLD MEN DIE is an entertaining story with all of Bill Crider’s trademarks—the mystery is tightly and superbly plotted, the characters are eccentric with muddy motives, and the humor is good natured and funny. The style and theme, or maybe the attitude, is more hardboiled than much of Mr. Crider’s current writing, but it works and works well. The setting is pitch-perfect. Galveston is described, both past and present, with nuanced detail by a writer who obviously knows and likes the city. The prose is lucid and smooth with enough bite to make it interesting:
"There were three quick shots, two of them scoring the floor; the third one glanced of the flashlight and sent it spinning crazily."
One of my favorite details of the Truman Smith novels is his cat Nameless. A name, or lack thereof, that is conspicuously similar to Bill Pronzini’s long running Nameless Detective series. The best part, Nameless is a cat in every detail:
"He’s big and yellowish orange, with gray-green eyes. He took his time about entering. He looked up at me as if to ask where I’d been all evening, then stretched and gawked and looked behind him before stepping daintily through the door."
The third Truman Smith novel, WHEN OLD MEN DIE, finds Truman putting the disappearance and murder of his sister behind him. He has a steady job with a bail bondsman in Galveston, Texas, and as the novel opens he is approached by Dino, one of his oldest pals, to find a homeless man called Outside Harry.
Outside Harry is a fixture around town. One of a group of homeless that are there, but rarely seen and Truman is a little dubious of the whole setup. He can’t figure why Dino wants to find Outside Harry and Dino’s explanation that Harry was his friend doesn’t wash. But Smith owes Dino and he commits to look for Harry over the weekend. It takes only a few hours for Truman to find trouble followed by more trouble, until he has to either solve the case or get out of Galveston.
WHEN OLD MEN DIE is an entertaining story with all of Bill Crider’s trademarks—the mystery is tightly and superbly plotted, the characters are eccentric with muddy motives, and the humor is good natured and funny. The style and theme, or maybe the attitude, is more hardboiled than much of Mr. Crider’s current writing, but it works and works well. The setting is pitch-perfect. Galveston is described, both past and present, with nuanced detail by a writer who obviously knows and likes the city. The prose is lucid and smooth with enough bite to make it interesting:
"There were three quick shots, two of them scoring the floor; the third one glanced of the flashlight and sent it spinning crazily."
One of my favorite details of the Truman Smith novels is his cat Nameless. A name, or lack thereof, that is conspicuously similar to Bill Pronzini’s long running Nameless Detective series. The best part, Nameless is a cat in every detail:
"He’s big and yellowish orange, with gray-green eyes. He took his time about entering. He looked up at me as if to ask where I’d been all evening, then stretched and gawked and looked behind him before stepping daintily through the door."
November 17, 2023
“When Old Men Die”, the third 'Truman Smith' book, pretty much sums up what is right and wrong in the series.
What's right is that an author with lots of ability has written a fairly interesting P.I. novel.
What's wrong is that it's a lazy piece of work – it's not bad, it's not good, it falls somewhere in-between.
Truman is a sympathetic character, easy to like but difficult to get close to.
He was a P.I. but gave it up some years ago when he couldn't solve the mystery of his sister's disappearance.
While many series have a back story which will be resolved in time, in this case the discovery of her body marked an ending rather than a new investigation
He's now somewhat of a hermit, drawn out for each book when a friend looks for help.
Dino is worried that an old employee of his family (you'll need to read the previous books to figure it out), now living on the streets, has disappeared and calls on Truman to find him.
With an investigation leading nowhere, Truman decides, without anything to indicate that it is true, that 'Outside Harry' must have seen something that prompted him to go into hiding.
And, of course, this being fiction, that assumption becomes fact.
The entire books hinges on it.
It's an old-fashioned and bog standard P.I. Novel – not a terrible read but also not one I will remember in a week.
If I were a Teacher I'd be writing "Could do better!"
3 Stars.
What's right is that an author with lots of ability has written a fairly interesting P.I. novel.
What's wrong is that it's a lazy piece of work – it's not bad, it's not good, it falls somewhere in-between.
Truman is a sympathetic character, easy to like but difficult to get close to.
He was a P.I. but gave it up some years ago when he couldn't solve the mystery of his sister's disappearance.
While many series have a back story which will be resolved in time, in this case the discovery of her body marked an ending rather than a new investigation
He's now somewhat of a hermit, drawn out for each book when a friend looks for help.
Dino is worried that an old employee of his family (you'll need to read the previous books to figure it out), now living on the streets, has disappeared and calls on Truman to find him.
With an investigation leading nowhere, Truman decides, without anything to indicate that it is true, that 'Outside Harry' must have seen something that prompted him to go into hiding.
And, of course, this being fiction, that assumption becomes fact.
The entire books hinges on it.
It's an old-fashioned and bog standard P.I. Novel – not a terrible read but also not one I will remember in a week.
If I were a Teacher I'd be writing "Could do better!"
3 Stars.
August 4, 2017
This is number 3 in the Truman Smith series written by Bill Crider. The Smith series never came out in paperback, which is damned shame. This was a tremendous read. Truman Smith is sort of a Gulf Coast, low-rent Lew Archer. He is a former football player working for a not quite reputable bail bondsman. There are many references to characters and events from the first two books, which my library, unfortunately, didn't have. A homeless person, one of the characters who inhabit Galveston, has gone missing, and an old friend wants Smith to find him. Smith sticks his feet into a hornet's nest, dangerous hornets at that. Crider dedicates this book to, and lifts an epigram from, William Campbell Gault and other crime writers of the '50s. The novel has the propulsive feel of an old Gold Medal crime original. As much as I hate cliches, I couldn't put it down.
May 11, 2020
Beautifully written with a subtle sense of humor that brings the characters to life. Crider has dialogue, dialect and colloquialism just too. Combine that with food and landscape, both of which are fresh and local, and you've got a great foundation for a good mystery set in Galveston, Texas amidst the remnants of place and people. Will read more Crider and hope they're as good as this one!
August 22, 2020
Another very good Truman Smith mystery.
Tru is a private investigator in Galveston, Texas, still haunted by his failure to find his sister, who later turned up murdered.
Life long friend Dino asks him to look into the disappearance of 'Outside' Harry, a homeless man well known in the town.
Old history is soon brought up again....
A entertaining story. Good characters and a good mystery.
Tru is a private investigator in Galveston, Texas, still haunted by his failure to find his sister, who later turned up murdered.
Life long friend Dino asks him to look into the disappearance of 'Outside' Harry, a homeless man well known in the town.
Old history is soon brought up again....
A entertaining story. Good characters and a good mystery.
September 7, 2015
January on Galveston Island means that one can still go fishing when northern sections of Texas and the United States are experiencing the brutal joys of old man winter. While one can stand on the gulf coast pier and throw a line into the ocean until the pier closes at five that does not mean the fish will cooperate. They certainly aren’t cooperating on this beautiful day when Dino comes out on the pier to talk.
Truman Smith has known Dino for a lot of years. Rarely does he come out and Dino never ventures out over the water even if it by way of a solid pier. Not only did Dino have to pay three bucks to come out onto the pier, he is missing part of his lineup of reality television talk shows that were so prevalent back in the 90’s. Whatever he needs is very important, at least to Dino, through Truman Smith isn’t exactly thrilled with him for a variety of reasons.
He is less thrilled when he hears what drove Dino to actually leave his home. Dino wants to hire Truman Smith and his private investigator skills to find the legendary local guy known as “Outside Harry.” An island fixture the man has been homeless for decades. Outside Harry has been homeless and probably always will be once he is found safe. It is a lifestyle choice for Outside Harry and one that will make him harder to find than the average person. Dino, who never was a part of the family business when gambling interests ran Galveston Island, has been making use of his contacts and can’t find him. Dino and his wife, Evelyn, want him found simply because he is missing and they are worried something might have happened to him.
“Besides,” Evelyn went on, “if you don’t look for him, nobody will. Nobody cares what happens to an old man like that.” (Page 8)
There is that as Truman is well aware. Dino is willing to pay in terms of cash and sweetens the deal with an unopened box of Tender Vittles for Truman’s cat, “Nameless” so Truman agrees to do a little looking. That search for Outside Henry leads him to a legendary island building, more than one ambush, and plenty more in “When Old Men Die: A Truman Smith Mystery.”
Third in the series following Dead on the Island and Gator Kill the read is a complex tale of mystery and deceit along with a touch of Texas History. Darker in tone than the Sheriff Dan Rhodes Series, the Truman Smith series features a private investigator that is trying to come to terms with his past and the guilt he feels. As such, each book finds him a little further along that path as he slowly copes with recent events. There are the occasional small flashes of humor, but mainly this book and the series in general is more action orientated with serious situations that are more detailed than in some of the author’s other books. This is a very good series that should be read in order due to the numerous events referenced in When Old Men Die: A Truman Smith Mystery. This series, much like the author, does not get the recognition that is well deserved.
When Old Men Die: A Truman Smith Mystery
Bill Crider
http://www.billcrider.com
Walker and Company (subsidiary of Bloomsbury Publishing)
http://www.bloomsbury.com
November 1994
ISBN# 0-8027-3195-3
Hardback
192 Pages (available in audio cassette and e-book versions)
$19.95
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015
Truman Smith has known Dino for a lot of years. Rarely does he come out and Dino never ventures out over the water even if it by way of a solid pier. Not only did Dino have to pay three bucks to come out onto the pier, he is missing part of his lineup of reality television talk shows that were so prevalent back in the 90’s. Whatever he needs is very important, at least to Dino, through Truman Smith isn’t exactly thrilled with him for a variety of reasons.
He is less thrilled when he hears what drove Dino to actually leave his home. Dino wants to hire Truman Smith and his private investigator skills to find the legendary local guy known as “Outside Harry.” An island fixture the man has been homeless for decades. Outside Harry has been homeless and probably always will be once he is found safe. It is a lifestyle choice for Outside Harry and one that will make him harder to find than the average person. Dino, who never was a part of the family business when gambling interests ran Galveston Island, has been making use of his contacts and can’t find him. Dino and his wife, Evelyn, want him found simply because he is missing and they are worried something might have happened to him.
“Besides,” Evelyn went on, “if you don’t look for him, nobody will. Nobody cares what happens to an old man like that.” (Page 8)
There is that as Truman is well aware. Dino is willing to pay in terms of cash and sweetens the deal with an unopened box of Tender Vittles for Truman’s cat, “Nameless” so Truman agrees to do a little looking. That search for Outside Henry leads him to a legendary island building, more than one ambush, and plenty more in “When Old Men Die: A Truman Smith Mystery.”
Third in the series following Dead on the Island and Gator Kill the read is a complex tale of mystery and deceit along with a touch of Texas History. Darker in tone than the Sheriff Dan Rhodes Series, the Truman Smith series features a private investigator that is trying to come to terms with his past and the guilt he feels. As such, each book finds him a little further along that path as he slowly copes with recent events. There are the occasional small flashes of humor, but mainly this book and the series in general is more action orientated with serious situations that are more detailed than in some of the author’s other books. This is a very good series that should be read in order due to the numerous events referenced in When Old Men Die: A Truman Smith Mystery. This series, much like the author, does not get the recognition that is well deserved.
When Old Men Die: A Truman Smith Mystery
Bill Crider
http://www.billcrider.com
Walker and Company (subsidiary of Bloomsbury Publishing)
http://www.bloomsbury.com
November 1994
ISBN# 0-8027-3195-3
Hardback
192 Pages (available in audio cassette and e-book versions)
$19.95
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015
April 12, 2010
This is a re-read. When I read it the first time I didn't know it was written by the same Bill Crider that scared the hell out of me at Corsicana High!
This murder mystery takes place in Galveston so I recognize all the places he talks about in the book. It is a little too bloody for me but it is a great read if you like old time murder mysteries.
This murder mystery takes place in Galveston so I recognize all the places he talks about in the book. It is a little too bloody for me but it is a great read if you like old time murder mysteries.
October 4, 2014
Another great Bill Crider book. I love these Truman Smith mysteries.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews