Sun 1 May 2011
Reviewed by Barry Gardner: B. J. OLIPHANT – Death and the Delinquent.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[3] Comments
B. J. OLIPHANT – Death and the Delinquent. Shirley McClintock #4, Fawcett Gold Medal, paperback original, 1993.
I like Sheri Tepper whatever name she writes under. A 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 J. Q. are 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 very 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 Novels (as by B. J. Oliphant)
1) Dead in the Scrub, 1990
2) The Unexpected Corpse, 1990
3) Deservedly Dead, 1992
4) Death and the Delinquent, 1992
5) Death Served Up Cold, 1994
6) A Ceremonial Death, 1996
7) Here’s to the Newly Dead, 1997
Editorial Comment: If Barry’s reference to “cat-like aliens” puzzled you, it’s because under her own name, Sheri S. Tepper is much better known as a science fiction and fantasy author than she was a mystery writer. Here’s a link to her credentials in that “other field” as deposed on Wikipedia.
May 2nd, 2011 at 6:51 am
I did read the first Oliphant book on Barry’s recommendation but I guess it didn’t make enough of an impression on me to go on with the series, for what (little) that’s worth.
May 2nd, 2011 at 11:11 am
Although I’d already read this one before Barry’s review, I had pretty much the same reaction as you, Jeff.
I didn’t find the characters as likable as he did, as I recall, and when that happens with a series that’s as character-driven as this one is, there’s not a lot of urgency to go on and read more of them.
May 2nd, 2011 at 1:25 pm
I’ve been looking for a review I once wrote of one of the Oliphant books, only to discover I’d already posted it on this blog.
You can find it here:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=1059
I seem to have liked it more than I remembered, but the fact remains that I didn’t read more than the one, as I recall, if you can rely on my memory.
And I don’t know why you should, if I don’t.