Showing Hog Heaven by Ben Rehder

"This guy is the funniest, freshest voice in Texas mystery writing today. His work stands out like a DayGlo parka in deer season."
—Rick Riordan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lightning Thief

HOG HEAVEN: After a high-school football star dies in a late-night motorcycle collision with a wild pig, the boy’s wealthy father comes up with a creative scheme to rid Blanco County of the feral pests: He tattoos the ear of one particular pig, then offers a $50,000 reward for anyone who shoots it. Game warden John Marlin is not pleased—chiefly because the bounty is likely to bring a wave of poachers and trespassers to the area. The tension rises even higher when the death of the local boy turns out to be more complicated than it originally appeared. Fans of Ben Rehder’s earlier comic mysteries will be in heaven—Hog Heaven.

REVIEWS FOR BEN REHDER'S NOVELS:

“Murderously funny.”
—Chicago Tribune

“Another of Rehder’s relentlessly twisted tales. Outrageous fun.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Wickedly funny.”
—Dallas Morning News

“The odd cast of characters and bizarre plots and subplots make for a rollicking good read.”
—Houston Chronicle

“Rehder has made the leap from writing skillful comic pleasantries to pulverizing satire.”
— Austin American-Statesman

“Rehder writes with an assured hand and a knowing tip of the wide-brimmed cowboy hat to the ways and wiles of the characters that people his distinctly Texan landscape.”
—San Antonio Express-News

“[An] increasingly popular (and increasingly enjoyable) series. With this novel, the Marlin series has completed the transition from light mystery to no-holds-barred madcap comedy crime fiction (à la Westlake or Hiaasen).” —Booklist

“Rehder continues to improve with each book. [His] series will appeal to fans of Southwestern mysteries laced with a bit of humor.”
—Library Journal

“This series about Blanco County, Texas, game warden John Marlin keeps getting odder and funnier…But one thing’s for sure: Rehder has jumped to a new level...just might grab a chunk of the outsize Hiaasen crowd.”
—Booklist

“Down-home humor that is both intriguing and entertaining.”
—Dallas Morning News

“Rollicking good fun.”
—San Antonio Express-News

“Rehder’s clever storytelling skills, his expert comic timing and flair for characters have made this series shine. Rehder doesn’t just write niche mysteries, he’s proving to be one of the genre’s rising talents with his twisted tales.”
—South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“The writing here is confident and vigorous; the tone is quintessentially Texan and relentlessly wry. There’s sure to be a long career for this happy, wacky series.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Ben Rehder writes about the Texas Hill Country with such insightful appreciation that he’s come to own the territory, much the same way Carl Hiaasen owns South Florida.”
—Austin Chronicle