A Knife in the Back: A Professor Sally Good Mystery

A couple of months I picked up one of Bill Crider's mysteries by accident and was delighted to discover this prolific but not-well-known author. I've been reading his books ever since. Although his longest series seems to be the Sheriff Rhodes series, this book is part of a smaller Sally Good series and set in a modest Texas 2-year college, Hughes Community College. Since Crider taught in a Texas community college, I imagine he's drawing on his experiences there. It's one of those community colleges where trades are taught and faculty are not expected to publish. Some of the funniest parts involve his wry observations about this college, where the campus is virtually empty on Friday afternoons and faculty members can be preoccupied with making sure that no-one else has a better teaching schedule than they do. Sally chairs the English Department: she's a widow who is just starting to get interested in dating -- she's accepted a date with nice-guy Jack, who teaches in her department, but secretly lusts after an ex-con faculty member named Jorge. Sally lives with Lola, a calico cat with attitude. The book begins with a murder: a trustee of the college is found with a knife in his back, and Jack is the obvious suspect. Sally refuses to believe he'd do such a thing, so she gets involved in trying to find out who the killer is (standard cozy mystery storyline). There's a cast of suspects among the college faculty, staff, and trustees. Sally and Jack team up to figure out who did it. A second murder that's likely connected complicates the story -- who would want to kill these two people and why? What did they have in common? This is an easy-breezy book to read -- good to curl up with on a day when you can read it straight through. I particularly enjoy the good-natured humor and likeable characters in these books. If you haven't discovered Crider's books yet, you're in for a treat. If you know Crider's work, you won't be disappointed.

Bill Crider specializes in the laid-back, good ol' boy type mystery story that could reasonably only take place in Texas. Logical, because that's where he lives and teaches and writes. Having read-and enjoyed-several in the series about Sheriff Dan Rhodes, I had no hesitation whatever when I encountered this book, the second in this series. Professor Sally Good is a good-ol boy-er, gal, er, lady in Texas who is the chair of the English Department at a community college just outside Houston. Art imitating life, perhaps? Well, Sally is a lady of a certain age (unspecified, but not exactly a spring chicken) a widow, with a house and a cat, and a libido that would like to be more engaged than it is. Two of the men in her department are of interest to her, which causes her some dismay. Jack Neville is a nice, charming man who is an excellent teacher. Sally recognizes that latter factor even as she realizes that he doesn't have much effect on her pulse rate. Jorge Rodriguez, on the other hand, is a hunk, but hardly the sort of man she should be thinking of in quite that way. Jorge has done time in the `big house', has tattoos and a lot of raw sex appeal. When a knife that Jack made in a continuing education class is found in the back of one of the college trustees, the local law enforcement officer is convinced that Jack is the one who put it there. Sally knows better, and the two of them set out to prove that she's right. In addition to another murder, there are a good many detours along the way, and some positively wonderful characterizations of academics and car dealers and other inhabitants of the town. Not to mention that Jack and Sally each have a mother and a cat, who are also given great personalities. Crider's prose zips right along at maximum speed, and before you quite realize it, the case is solved, and the only remaining mystery is - who will be Sally's next date? I'll hope to find out soon.

When Crider takes another stab at Hughes Community College, he hits his target again. Actually, when series sleuth Sally Good finds herself trying to solve another murder connected with the college in order to keep her colleague and "boyfriend"(?) Jack Neville out of prison, she almost lets him down. In the end, she saves the day again, and we get to see her as a pistol-packing English professor to boot.This second outing with Dr. Sally Good is better than her first (Murder Is an Art), but I'm still waiting for the return of my favorite English professor/sleuth Carl Burns of Hartley-Gorman College. I do suspect that Good will get Better and Better with each new story.Fans of Crider's writing will not be let down with his latest offering. It is filled with easy-to-read pages of his trademark humor and several likely suspects. If you're not yet hooked on Crider, Hughes Community College is a great place to start.