Review: A terrific thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2012
"The Devil to Pay," the fourth installment of the Bill Travis Mystery series, opens with a bang - Phil Burnet, the recently retired curator of the Texas Ranger Museum, is found dead in a creek where he liked to fish.  As the author wryly observes:  "Phil Burnet was thoroughly dead.  Dead did not come much deader."Perry Reilly, an insurance agent and womanizer, discovers the body, and later teams up with the down-to-earth investment counselor , Bill Travis, to solve the murder.  Although dozens of local folks wanted Phil dead, all signs point to Walt Cannon, a veteran Ranger who looks like the Marlboro Man, as the chief suspect.  Why?  And what does an old arson case have to do with it?The dialogue is crisp, the characters are colorful and the writing is unsentimental and evocative of the locale.  The plot has plenty of harrowing twists that keep you guessing, and when Bill's adopted daughter joins the hunt, the tension between the three investigators is ratcheted up.The humor never clashes with the dark nature of the murder, and its roots in satanic ritual.  The book is at times as funny as it is haunting - and the darkness and mystery keep the plot hurtling forward.  As Bill says:  "I felt a black door opening."This hair-raising mystery will keep you glued to your Kindle.  Highly recommended.