Dead in the Scrub

Sheri S. Tepper has published under a variety of different pseudonyms during her highly prolific writing career. In 1989, as A J Orde, she introduced her crime-solving Colorado antique dealer, Jason Lynx, to the world in "A Little Neighborhood Murder". The following year saw the appearance of another sleuthing character from Colorado, rancher Shirley McClintock, in the first of another series of murder mysteries, "Dead in the Scrub", this time purportedly from the pen of one B J Oliphant. Like Jason Lynx, Shirley McClintock is a practical, no-nonsense sort of person, who gets drawn into trying to identify a murderer through no great desire of her own but rather as a consequence of happening to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Shirley is very much a female counterpart to Jason Lynx, for all that she is a rancher, born and bred, and therefore tied more to the practical and physically hard work of the land than to the rarified world of interior design, decoration and fine art inhabited by her city-dwelling equivalent. Both are intelligent, thinking people, with little time or patience for entertaining fools. Which makes them typical Sheri Tepper protagonists -- good, honest and decent, with a generous helping of what is generally known as common sense, because once upon a time such sense was indeed common -- who are given no choice but to get on and do what needs to be done because no-one else around them seems capable or willing to do it. As a murder mystery, "Dead in the Scrub" moves along at a fair pace, with nearly all of the clues sufficiently out in the open for most readers to see through to the answers as the pieces fall into place. Whether or not you solve the mystery for yourself, the story remains a fun read, with the easy-going interaction between Shirley and her partner J.Q. being a particular delight, as well as the emerging character of the young Allison in their midst. Sheri Tepper's main hobby-horses are never far away either -- more so perhaps here than in the Jason Lynx stories -- with abuse of religious power and position, the anti-abortion, pro-life lobby, as well as the American mid-Western lower business classes coming under particularly heavy attack, even in this lightest of books. In part, the book sometime seems to be an early trial-run for the author's more heavyweight texts, such as "Gibbons Decline and Fall", although Ms Tepper never permits the moralising to intrude too badly upon the story line itself here. If you're looking for a fun, easy going read, this book will certainly fit that bill, although sadly it, in common with all of the books in the series, has long been out of print. There are usually a reasonable number of not-too-tatty second-hand paperback copies floating around at a fairly low price for those prepared to hunt, however. For those wanting more Shirley McClintock mysteries, the next volume in the series is "The Unexpected Corpse".

At first glance, this book has many parallels to the 'other' highly popular Colorado mystery series - single woman in the foothills outside of Denver encounters death and small town intrigue. Yet this book (and series I assume - as this is the first in a series) is different from Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy the Caterer series. The heroine sleuth is Shirley McClintock - fifty something, retired from a high level job in Washington DC (only vaguely described), twice widowed and now living on her family ranch. She's not afraid to take a stand against the pro-lifers outside of an abortion clinic or to fight for an orphaned child. She's spunky but in a refreshing way.The murder mystery part of this book is solidly constructed. The probable culprits emerge fairly early but the reasons for their actions are only revealed at the end. It all has to do with an evangelical church, a real estate depression and women's rights. Not safe territory but very interesting for me.I'll be reading more in this series.

"Dead in the Scrub" is the first book in B.J. Oliphant's Shirley McClintock series. I have read it four times. Since Oliphant is really Sheri S. Tepper, it's not surprising that her main character is quite opinionated, and didactic at times. This doesn't detract from the story, though. In fact, it may add to its appeal. Whether you agree with Shirley's opinions or not, she's never boring. The conversations and characters are as entertaining as the mystery itself. One of the most likable characters is an 11-year-old girl, Alison, whose mother is forcing her into an extreme, grotesque caricature of grown-up femininity, complete with full makeup and artificial nails, when the girl would rather be reading or playing baseball. After Alison's parents are murdered, she goes to live with Shirley and her friend J.Q. on their ranch, where she can lead a freer and more normal life. (You'd almost think that Shirley, upon seeing the way the poor girl is being brought up, might be tempted to do away with the parents herself, but, don't worry, she's not the one whodunit.) All the books in this series are well worth reading. And I also recommend Ms. Tepper's other mystery series, written under the name A.J. Orde.