Wed 26 Feb 2020
Stories I’m Reading: BILL CRIDER “Who Killed Cock Rogers?”
Posted by Steve under Stories I'm ReadingNo Comments
BILL CRIDER ‘Who Killed Cock Rogers?” Sheriff Dan Rhodes. First published in The Mysterious West, edited by Tony Hillerman (HarperCollins, 1994). Collected in The Blacklin County Files (Kindle edition, 2012).
Here are the first two paragraphs that slide us right into the story with infinite ease:
“And it’s all your fault, Sheriff Rhodes!” she said. wagging her finger in his face.
And here are the last three paragraphs, as the author winds up his tale:
“It wasn’t the cows,” Rhodes aid, “It was the manure.”
Hack chuckled. “Ain’t it always?” he said.
In between is a tale of murder, that of a radio host whose technique of choice was to boost his ratings by any controversial means he could. Bill’s way with a story stands out, as always: a hint of dry downhome Texas humor (well, more often than not, more than a hint) along with a serious crime to be solved, one that both he and Dan Rhodes take very seriously. This story is no exception.