Review: A Riveting Mystery
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 3, 2012
This is a beautifully written book that I just couldn't put down.Bill Travis is a financial consultant, the kind of man who "makes money make more money."  When he lands in a small Texas airport, Bill becomes ensnared in a murder investigation.  Edgar Bristow, a wealthy man and a mentor to Bill's friend Denise, meets an untimely demise and the local sheriff asks for Bill's help in solving the murder.As Bill begins to peel back layers of the mystery, each answer raises more questions.  Wier is a skillful writer who manages to make the Texas landscape and its eccentric inhabitants come alive on every page.  After a terrific description of flying, he writes:  "We landed like a leaf sighing down from a tree."Small towns have big secrets, and it turns out this town is full of them.  Travis is a real human being, vulnerable, stubborn, loyal, kind, but no pushover.  As he teases out hidden clues, leading to surprising revelations, we wait for the killer to strike again as the clock ticks down."Death on the Perdenales" is a harrowing, suspenseful mystery, with many wry moments and insights, and it kept me turning pages.  The writing is as beautiful as it is chilling:  "It always begins with a feeling in the gut, with a nervous prickle among the small hairs on the nape of my neck, with a parched throat and a black gulf somewhere in the area near to my feet as if the ground underfoot is astride a crevasse of amazing dimension.  And it means little sleep and guesses in the dark to come."Highly recommended!