"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
Holy Moly: When televangelist Peter Boothe decides to build a megachurch on the banks of the Pedernales River, he thinks his biggest problem will be a few unhappy neighbors. However, when backhoe operator Hollis Farley unearths a rare fossil on the construction site---a discovery that could lead to plenty of embarrassing Darwinian publicity---the cover-up begins. Soon, Farley is dead, shot in the back with an arrow, and Game Warden John Marlin is asked to help with the case. What he and the local deputies find is a suspect list of biblical proportions: Could it have been the bitter geology professor? The private fossil collector with a somewhat unusual fetish? The minister’s wife who takes the Commandments rather lightly? Or the geriatric environmentalist with a mean right hook? Nothing is sacred in Rehder’s most laughable satire yet, a twisted tale of greed, corruption, infidelity, and, yes, paleontology.
REVIEWS FOR HOLY MOLY:
“Rich with clever prose, oddball characters and laugh-aloud plot twists. The author, an Edgar Award finalist, is a sharp stylist with an engaging and frequently irreverent sense of humor.â€
— Dallas Morning News
“For those suffering Carl Hiaasen withdrawals, Holy Moly might be the perfect poolside fix come summer.â€
— Texas Monthly
“A tale of lust, power and greed that unravels at breakneck speed…Rehder’s characters are always memorable, as are his satirical plots. His style is entertaining and fun to read.â€
— San Antonio Express-News
“Edgar-finalist Rehder’s sixth Blanco County (Tex.) mystery may be the best to date in this rollicking crime series. Rehder’s satirical take on greed, faith and foolishness moves at a swift clip, punctuated with dizzy twists and even bittersweet turns, like a good toe-tapping, country and western tune.â€
— Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“Ben Rehder in his hilarious Holy Moly places televangelists and the creationism vs. evolution debate under the microsope. [He] takes readers on an adventure into the multimillion-dollar realm of the televangelist on whose land the fossil was found, life in small-town Texas, and the inner workings of police investigation in the latest entry in this Edgar Award-nominated series. Combining sophisticated prose with down-home Texas crime, he leaves no part of Texas life untouched.â€
— Library Journal