Sat 19 Nov 2016
Reviewed by Barry Gardner: B. J. OLIPHANT – Death and the Delinquent.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[3] Comments
B. J. OLIPHANT – Death and the Delinquent. Shirley McClintock #4. Fawcett, paperback original, 1993.
I like Sheri Tepper whatever name she writes under. At least I think I do; I haven’t read any of her A. J. Orde books, though I’ve got one waiting. I do like the Shirley McClintock series a lot and think they’re good enough for hard covers.
Shirley and her foreman/companion vacationing in the mountains of New Mexico after the traumatic events in the last book with her daughter Allison and Allison’s schoolmate April. April isn’t working out too well. She’s nosy, neurotic, and thoroughly obnoxious, and Shirley has decided to send her home when a sharpshooter wounds Shirley’s mule and kills April. Accident? Hard to see how it could be.
Some strange items are found in April’s belongings, and then a newborn is stolen from a hospital nursery. Of course it all fits together but Shirley-on-crutches is damned if she sees how.
Tepper/Oliphant/Orde’s strength has always been her characters, whether they’re cat-like aliens or independent Colorado ranch ladies. Shirley McClintock is one of the stronger and more realistic, and an altogether appealing heroine. I haven’t found anything to dislike in this series. The writing is good, the characterization excellent, and the plots haven’t strained my credulity. All of the regulars have become real people, and I look forward to seeing more of them.
The Shirley McClintock series —
Dead in the Scrub. Gold Medal, 1990.
The Unexpected Corpse. Gold Medal, 1990.
Deservedly Dead. Gold Medal, 1992.
Death and the Delinquent. Gold Medal, 1993.
Death Served Up Cold. Gold Medal, 1994.
A Ceremonial Death. Gold Medal, 1996.
Here’s to the Newly Dead. Gold Medal.
Sheri S. Tepper also wrote six mysteries as A. J. Orde, the leading character in these being Jason Lynx, an antiques dealer based in Denver CO. Under her own name, however, she was far better known as a writer of science fiction and fantasy, as you can see from her bibliography here. She died last month, on October 22, 2016, at the age of 87.
November 19th, 2016 at 1:19 pm
When it comes to Barry’s reviews, I find myself agreeing with him about nine times out of ten. The Oliphant books, the ones I’ve read, fall into the other ten percent.
The characters may have been well drawn, as Barry suggests, but I never found one of them likeable. And when the mysteries are as based on personal events (to the characters) as they are in Tepper’s books, I found it rather difficult to enjoy them.
November 19th, 2016 at 7:11 pm
Well written, but I never warmed to anyone in them.
November 20th, 2016 at 7:51 am
I agree with you, Steve, both of Barry’s reviews in general and on this series in particular. I read the first one, DEAD IN THE SCRUB, based on his recommendation, and found the characters (including the main one) hard to like or care about. I never read another.