When novelist Taylor Madison discovers a mysterious letter among her late mother's effects, she heads for West Texas in search of her father's identity. But small, sleepy towns don't appreciate rude awakenings, and Taylor soon finds herself up to her ears in rattlesnakes and long-kept secrets -- a deadly combination.
Excerpt
Please visit my website at
http://www.angelfire.com/tx3/elizabethdearl to read Chapter One
Professional Reviews
Scribes World 5 Star Reviewer's Choice Award
Diamondback
Elizabeth Dearl
Avid Press, LLC
ISBN 1-929613-33-4
Clutching a letter from an aunt she's never met, mystery writer Taylor Madison arrives in Perdue Texas seeking the name of her father. Alone in the world except for her pet ferret, Hazel, Taylor desperately needs to discover who she is and where she belongs. Her mission becomes more urgent when the town sheriff dies under suspicious circumstances. Taylor doesn't mean to cause trouble, but her questions uncover a snake's nest of small town scandals and secrets. When someone tries to drop a sandbag on her head during the Miss Snakeskin Contest, Taylor must face the fact that someone in Perdue is willing to kill to protect those secrets.
Ms. Dearl has written a great puzzle, but as Sheriff Crawford says of Agatha Christie, ". . . what I admire most is the ability she had to bring her characters to life." Ms. Dearl populates Perdue, Texas with quirky individuals and brings them to life with crisp dialogue, seasoned with a touch of West Texan drawl. Taylor drives an old Volkswagen Bug and carries her ferret around in her backpack. Sheriff Crawford, the perfect small town sheriff, longs for another man's wife. His deputy, Cal Arnette, looks like a gangbanger, but is really a law school dropout searching for justice. Add an eighty-five year old, chain-smoking clerk who runs the town council, and you have an idea of the people you're apt to meet in this charming book.
Set against the backdrop of a West Texan rattlesnake festival, Diamondback is an enthralling and well-plotted mystery. Ms. Dearl weaves clues deftly throughout the story, leading the reader to a climax that will surprise and satisfy even the most jaded mystery lover. On every level, Diamondback is a delight. I give it my highest recommendation.
—Carrie S. Masek
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Reviews for "Diamondback"
Reviewed by Elizabeth Henze
8/6/2001
I thoroughly enjoyed this first Taylor Madison Mystery. After heading for Perdue, a small west Texas town, in search of her father's identity, Taylor finds herself thrust into a passel of rattlesnakes, not all of which slither on their bellies. DIAMONDBACK is a fast paced, couldn't-put-it-down mystery that I read in one sitting and I was sorry to see it end. Bravo! If you have an aversion to snakes, this book will give you a very bad case of the creepy crawlies, so be warned. And don't miss TWICE DEAD, the second Taylor Madison adventure.!
Six straight men in the cast plus free Tex-Mex food? My friend Lida Rose sure knew how to persuade me. I signed on the dotted line and dusted off my dance shoes. I knew Bad Business on the Brazos would have them rolling in the aisles and standing up
Jerry Lowenstein, an octogenarian and a nice guy, has written a fantastic mystery/ suspense novel that takes place just after WW2 on and near Bikini Atoll. He actually witnessed an atomic bomb test. Can you imagine that?
