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Published Nov 2010
320 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Charlie Moon, Ute rancher and investigator, isn't afraid to throw the dice even when a man's life is at stake, but when that man is betting against himself and Moon’s ability to save him, that makes for some awfully high stakes.
Hard times have come to Colorado, and Moon's ranch is feeling the pinch. Investor Samuel Reed has never had that problem. He seems to have a special intuition when it comes to picking stocks and claims to be able to remember the future, which gives him quite a leg up on Wall Street. So it’s no surprise that Reed is confident when he makes a wager with Moon’s best friend, Granite City Chief of Police Scott Parish, that Parish can’t keep him alive.
Even when Reed doesn't give them any details beyond the date and time of his impending demise, that's more than enough information for Moon who wants in on the action and is just as confident that he's well on the way to saving his ranch. But Moon's best plans go awry when instead of one homicide on his hands, he ends up with two.
James D. Doss infuses the pages of A Dead Man’s Tale, the fifteenth in his popular series, with his potent brand of high spirits and homespun humor that has made him a favorite among mystery readers.
"[A] denouement surprising enough to make it worth tolerating the author's myriad digressions and annoying stylistic quirks." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Top-flight work from Doss (The Widow's Revenge, 2009, etc.), who can outplot most anybody and give cold-blooded miscreants a case of the giggles. Are you listening, awards committees." - Kirkus
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
James D. Doss, recently retired from the technical staff of Los Alamos National Laboratory, now spends most of his time in a small cabin above Taos -- writing mystery fiction. He also travels to the fascinating locations where his stories take place, often camping in remote areas to absorb the impression of an Anasazi ruin, a deep canyon, an arid mesa, or a Sun Dance. His Shaman series includes The Shaman Sings, The Shaman Laughs, The Shaman's Bones, The Shaman's Game, The Night Visitor, and Grandmother Spider. The unusual plots are a mix of high technology and mysticism (Shaman Sings), bizarre animal mutilations (Shaman Laughs), theft of a sacred artifact (Shaman's Bones), an unprecedented form of murder and revenge at the Sun Dance (Shaman's Game), a most peculiar haunting followed by ...
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