The synopsis: Lennox Armbruster was struck by a speeding vehicle—but was it an accident or an insurance scam gone wrong? Roy Ballard is hired to find out, and he soon learns there’s a third possibility: attempted murder. Joe Jankowski, the man who hit Armbruster, is a tough-talking player in the construction industry, and a feud with one of his former employees has shown that he has a temper to match his brash personality. When Roy and his partner Mia Madison attempt to dig deeper, they learn just how far Jankowski will go to shut down their investigation.

Does Caleb Dimmick really work at his father's motorcycle dealership, or does he simply ride the payroll, thereby giving his dad a nice tax break? Roy Ballard, a legal videographer specializing in insurance fraud, is hired to find out. After just a few days, Roy is convinced everything is legit—until a dealership employee is gunned down in his own backyard, possibly by an assassin on an orange sportbike. Now, with a large life insurance payout on the line, Roy needs to identify the killer. But the deeper Roy digs, the greater the risk grows, setting up a series of deadly confrontations that will shake him to his core.

Life in rural Blanco County, Texas, isn't what most folks would call exciting—and that suits game warden John Marlin just fine. He's happy to spend his days and nights protecting the local wildlife from poachers. But when the tequila-slamming, skirt-chasing treasurer of the local Rotary Club goes missing and his vehicle is found in the river the day after a flood, Marlin finds himself in charge of the search efforts. At nearly the same time, a nearby house explodes in a shower of drug paraphernalia, and an exotic car turns up stolen from the missing man's barn. Marlin and Sheriff Bobby Garza are soon overwhelmed, trying to figure out how everything connects together. It isn't long before events begin to spiral out of control. Edgar Award-nominated author Ben Rehder keeps the plot moving and the laughs coming in another spectacularly funny crime novel straight out of the zaniest imagination in Texas.

Welcome to Ben Rehder's Blanco County, Texas, where the right to bear arms is about to go very, very wrong…in Gun Shy The National Weapons Alliance rally in support of every American's right to bear arms is meant to garner huge publicity.  And the host of the event is none other than the NWA's newest spokesman, handsome country superstar Mitch Campbell. What nobody suspects is that the Stetson-wearing, gun-toting, bull-riding Campbell is a fraud. He's really Norman Kleinschmidt, a pill-popping, snowboarding, former rock-and-roller from Vermont.  To Campbell's dismay, someone from his past is about to make that secret a big, big problem. Meanwhile, when an illegal immigrant is killed in a questionable hunting accident just days before the rally, local game warden John Marlin starts to poke around.  It's not long before an astonishing series of events threatens to bring down the very carefully marketed Mitch Campbell, and maybe the NWA along with him.From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Straight-shooter Rehder sends up players on both sides of the gun control debate in his fifth Blanco County mystery (after 2005's Guilt Trip), a humorous, intelligent take on a serious issue. John Marlin, a sure-footed game warden and Texas peace officer, doesn't believe in blaming guns instead of criminals for crime, but his views on Second Amendment rights are tested by a National Weapons Alliance (NWA) rally, planned for July 4 at the ranch of country and western superstar Mitch Campbell. Addled by 'shrooms, Mitch accidentally kills a Mexican gardener and turns to the smarmy NWA Texas chapter president, Dale Stubbs, for help covering up the crime. Meanwhile, SNATCH (Society of Nonviolent Americans to Control Handguns) plans a protest of the NWA rally. Subplots include NWA applicant Red O'Brien's ill-conceived schemes to sell a ditty to Mitch Campbell and former sitcom star Sabrina Nash's quest to prevent the release of the convict who years earlier shot her young son to death. This satire packs firepower and poignant surprises. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistBlanco County, Texas, game warden John Marlin takes on the pro-gun lobby in the fourth installment of this increasingly popular (and increasingly enjoyable) series. The latest big-name spokesman for the National Weapons Alliance has a big secret: he ain't who he says he is. And when someone threatens to blow the secret, all manner of mayhem ensures, including murder. With this novel, the Marlin series has completed the transition from light mystery to no-holds-barred madcap comedy crime fiction (a la Westlake or Hiaasen). David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Blanco County, Texas: It's the week before deer-hunting season and the locals are getting restless. Game Warden John Marlin has his hands full with poaching complaints coming in faster than he can write tickets. Then a call of a different sort comes in. A man in some sort of deer costume has been shot, and witnesses are reporting a wild-eyed buck prancing about the pasture in a lovesick frenzy. Marlin's seen a lot in his years, but this is wilder than he could have imagined: the man in the deer suit is a good friend, and the whacked-out whitetail isn't a stranger either. It's the beginning of a frantic weekend in Blanco County, one that will see a few more men shot, an invasion by Colombians with more than hunting on their minds, and damn near the end of Marlin's life.

When televangelist Peter Boothe decides to build a megachurch on the banks of the Pedernales River, he thinks his biggest problem will be a few unhappy neighbors. However, when backhoe operator Hollis Farley unearths a rare fossil on the construction site---a discovery that could lead to plenty of embarrassing Darwinian publicity---the cover-up begins. Soon, Farley is dead, shot in the back with an arrow, and Game Warden John Marlin is asked to help with the case.What he and the local deputies find is a suspect list of biblical proportions: Could it have been the bitter geology professor? The private fossil collector with a somewhat unusual fetish? The minister’s wife who takes the Commandments rather lightly? Or the geriatric environmentalist with a mean right hook? Nothing is sacred in Rehder’s most laughable satire yet, a twisted tale of greed, corruption, infidelity, and, yes, paleontology.

An unidentified wild creature is on the loose in Blanco County, and, over the protests of game warden John Marlin, the locals have convinced themselves they're dealing with a mythical vampirish beast called a chupacabra. It doesn't help Marlin's cause when a dead body turns up with a fang-like wound in its neck. Then things really get out of hand: tabloid news programs invade Blanco, good old boys Red O'Brien and Billy Don Craddock develop a cockamamie get-rich-quick scheme involving the animal, and everyone is a little surprised at the booming population of voluptuous Chinese dwarves who've turned up in town. If anyone can make sense of the strange events, it's John Marlin, who's well-versed in the intricacies of small-town life, Texas style. But can he do it before another body turns up?

After a high school football star dies in a late-night motorcycle collision with a wild pig, the boy’s wealthy father comes up with a creative scheme to rid Blanco County of the feral pests: He tattoos the ear of one particular pig, then offers a $50,000 reward for anyone who shoots it.Game warden John Marlin is not pleased—chiefly because the bounty is likely to bring a wave of poachers and trespassers to the area. The tension rises even higher when the death of the local boy turns out to be more complicated than it originally appeared.

Edgar Award-nominated author Ben Rehder's Blanco County comic mysteries have made best-of-the-year lists in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Field & Stream. The novels have been optioned by Warner Brothers Horizon Scripted Television for development as a cable TV series. Bone Dry: Life can get a little wild from time to time for John Marlin, the game warden in Blanco County, Texas—but few incidents compare to the stories flying around town at the start of this new deer season. Hunters are reporting an incredible sight: a six-foot-tall, drop-dead gorgeous blonde is roaming the woods, searching out camouflage-clad men with guns and disarming them with powers of seduction the likes of which none of them have ever come across before. Everyone has a hearty laugh at the expense of a few embarrassed hunters, until one of their own turns up dead in the woods. Now Marlin has a real mystery to deal with. Meanwhile, rumors are spreading about a new Blanco resident, an ex-New Yorker named Sal Mameli who's ruffling feathers with his loud mouth and his penchant for getting his own way, no matter what the cost. Before long, John Marlin realizes he may be the only sane man in town, and he's starting to wonder if he can last much longer himself. It's just the start of another unforgettable hunting season in Bone Dry, the hilarious second novel from Edgar finalist Ben Rehder. Other books by Ben Rehder: The Driving Lesson: Charlie Dunbar had big plans for the summer break, but becoming a fugitive was nowhere on the list. Even more unexpected, his partner in crime is his own ailing grandfather. Now they're on the run, trying to make it across the country to see a special kind of doctor, while the world becomes mesmerized by their journey. They are the subject of heated debates on cable news channels. Thousands of people voice their support on Facebook fan pages. And Charlie's own parents appear on live TV to plead for him to come home safely. But Charlie isn't ready yet. He's determined to get his grandfather to Seattle. The only question is, will the police stop him first? Recommended for ages 13 to adult. The Chicken Hanger: Ricky Delgado longs for the same things every American citizen wants: A steady job, a nice home, a decent place to raise a family. The problem is, he’s in the country illegally. He’s been here eight months, keeping a low profile as he works in a poultry plant in South Texas. But when his brother Tomas becomes the victim of random violence while crossing the Rio Grande, Ricky’s shot at the American dream is placed in jeopardy. Because now he wants something even more important. Justice.**

The synopsis: Lennox Armbruster was struck by a speeding vehicle—but was it an accident or an insurance scam gone wrong? Roy Ballard is hired to find out, and he soon learns there’s a third possibility: attempted murder. Joe Jankowski, the man who hit Armbruster, is a tough-talking player in the construction industry, and a feud with one of his former employees has shown that he has a temper to match his brash personality. When Roy and his partner Mia Madison attempt to dig deeper, they learn just how far Jankowski will go to shut down their investigation.

Edgar Award-nominated author Ben Rehder's Blanco County mysteries have made best-of-the-year lists in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Field & Stream, and are currently in development with Warner Brothers and USA Network as a TV series. HOG HEAVEN: After a high-school football star dies in a late-night motorcycle collision with a wild pig, the boy's wealthy father comes up with a creative scheme to rid Blanco County of the feral pests: He tattoos the ear of one particular pig, then offers a $50,000 reward for anyone who shoots it. Game warden John Marlin is not pleased - chiefly because the bounty is likely to bring a wave of poachers and trespassers to the area. The tension rises even higher when the death of the local boy turns out to be more complicated than it originally appeared. Fans of Ben Rehder's earlier comic mysteries will be in heaven - Hog Heaven. OTHER NOVELS BY BEN REHDER Buck Fever Bone Dry Flat Crazy Guilt Trip Gun Shy Holy Moly The Chicken Hanger The Driving LessonGone The Next

Blanco County, Texas: It's the week before deer-hunting season and the locals are getting restless. Game Warden John Marlin has his hands full with poaching complaints coming in faster than he can write tickets. Then a call of a different sort comes in. A man in some sort of deer costume has been shot, and witnesses are reporting a wild-eyed buck prancing about the pasture in a lovesick frenzy. Marlin's seen a lot in his years, but this is wilder than he could have imagined: the man in the deer suit is a good friend, and the whacked-out whitetail isn't a stranger either. It's the beginning of a frantic weekend in Blanco County, one that will see a few more men shot, an invasion by Colombians with more than hunting on their minds, and damn near the end of Marlin's life.

When the 102-year-old inventor of an amazing new hunting product is murdered, the clues point toward the Endicotts, a controversial reality-show family. Did one of the members do something desperate to claim the invention as their own and boost their waning popularity? Blanco County game warden John Marlin intends to find out, if he can prevent his best friend from having a deadly run-in with the prime suspect. Stag Party is the eighth novel in Ben Rehder's hilarious Blanco County mystery series.