I've
written here many times about the work of Spur Award-winning author
Richard Prosch. Most of that has been to herald his work in the
Western genre—particularly his stories and novellas featuring Holt
County Deputy Sheriff Whit Bannon as well as his terrific series
featuring John Coburn, the Perigrene. Throughout, however, Richard
has written several stories in other genres ranging from horror to
contemporary crime to the wonderful YA turn-of-the-century adventures
featuring Jo Harper.
Most
recently Richard has focused his talents on the crime/mystery field
with a short story and a novella featuring Dan Spalding, a former
state cop who has taken over running his late brother's used record
store in Ozark City. But Spalding's instincts remain sharp from his
years on the force and he seems to have a knack for getting involved
in sometimes-dangerous situations where those instincts continue to
come in handy.
I
had the pleasure of reading the first Dan Spalding novel, ANSWER
DEATH (and also “Spalding's Groove”, the Spalding short story
that preceded it) and at that time provided the following blurb:
"ANSWER
DEATH is about as slick and clever a murder mystery as you're likely
to find. With an original setting, an engaging protagonist, and the
lean, distinct prose of author Prosch fueling it, it is a winner that
I hope is the start of a series we will be seeing plenty more of.
Don't wait—check it out now!"
Really
not much more I can add to that. You can get a further plot synopsis
on Amazon—which I urge you to do, along with then going ahead and
purchasing the book (as well as the short story). Both are available
on Kindle and the novel also in a print edition.
You
can't go wrong with anything written by Prosch, and if your tastes
run to quasi-hardboiled mysteries with a laid back protagonist
channeling shades of Travis McGee, then you're definitely going to
want to make the acquaintance of Dan Spalding, too.
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