J. M. HayesRezensionen

I liked the main characters in this book (the only book in the series I have read) but the plot was ridiculous with every other person indiscriminately shooting their machine gun or throwing their grenade.
If it had focused on the people a bit more and not a shoot at everything story, I might be continuing on to the next book, because I think these characters could be interesting.
There was also an afterword by the author that may be saying all this mayhem was because he had been accused of writing cozy mysteries. Maybe I would have liked those better, but I am not willing to try after this book.½

Although the plot centers around murder, this is not a murder mystery in the conventional sense. People seeking such a thing will not find it here.

The Spirit & the Skull is a very interesting exploration of a hypothetical paleolithic society, based on some archeological data and a lot of speculation, focusing on some of the first nomads to move into North America.

The society of the people is very well-drawn, I thought, combining both the ways in which we are similar and the ways in which their society was probably vastly different from ours. It focuses mostly on the menfolk, so women were largely treated as chattel; nonetheless, there were some ways in which their power was clear, though it would have been better balanced to make that more obvious. I find it really hard to believe that a subsistence-scrabbling tribe would have the resources to so thoroughly ignore the women on whom they rely; that's a luxury I doubt they could, in practice, afford.

The real problem is with the plot. Most especially: the time-traveling elements seemed completely out of place and unnecessary. I think they were supposed to ratchet up the tension around the paleo murders more, but it was not clear at all to me how these were connected in any sense, so that didn't work. I also found the resolution of the mystery to be arbitrary and not something that felt like an obvious solution.

Now, in some ways these might be strengths. I've read enough folktales in which causation and plot do not coincide with our current understandings, and this novel as a whole did remind me of such, as well as literary fiction as some create it.

Nonetheless, I found it a fascinating read, but ultimately unsatisfying ... which of course may have been the author's intent; I cannot say.

I received this book from Rambles.net, in exchange for writing an honest review.½

A slight, enjoyable mystery that takes itself exactly as seriously as it should, and doesn't outstay its welcome, Mad Dog and Englishman was a good read, especially given its current price on the Kindle (free).

Sheriff English has a Deputy he can't fire, an ex-wife that won't quit, and half-brother whose senses are on a leave-of-absence. But these small-town tribulations pale into nothingness when the local priest's mutilated corpse shows up. Who killed him, and why?

Hayes' writing is what really sets this book apart from other, more pedestrian mysteries, with similarly preposterous plots. He captures the rural setting with great accuracy and affection. Anyone from a small town will recognise the types and the way they react, but I was really impressed by how he refused to turn his characters into superheros when the plot demanded it. Instead, when a very unusual violence sweeps into town, the characters are at a loss, and make several bad decisions - exactly as ordinary people would do.

But whatever the danger, the tone remains light, and the narrative bustles along. In this respect, Mad Dog and Englishman felt very "television" to me - lovable characters, light tone, dastardly deeds. This isn't a knock on the book, but anyone looking for adamantine logic and emotional (or otherwise) realism should best look elsewhere.

They would be missing out though. Hayes has written an enjoyable romp, almost a perfect holiday read.½

First Line: Summer in Benteen County, Kansas, is a season possessed of all the gentle subtlety of an act of war.

When Sheriff English's part-Cheyenne brother, Mad Dog, arrives in the park to meditate, he finds the mutilated body of Reverend Peter Sims, and the entire county is set on its ear. Benteen County is sparsely populated. Everyone knows everyone else's business. Sheriff English has never had to investigate a homicide, even the coroner (who's been on the job for over seventeen years) has never had to deal with a murder victim. So it's important that they do everything right.

Since Mad Dog is the natural prime suspect, Sheriff English has to not only look for suspicious characters, he has to delve into the history of the Simms family, which is very dark indeed. More murders seem almost inevitable-- just like that tornado that's on the horizon.

Hayes brings small town Kansas to life and doesn't put a foot wrong with his cast of characters. Sheriff English's ex-wife is a teacher, and they have a mouthy teenage daughter. Although they're divorced, they can't seem to keep their hands off each other-- which is something the entire town knows.

There's also the incompetent police officer who got his job through nepotism. He can't use his handcuffs because his kid lost the key and he hasn't got the replacement yet. The dispatcher is good at her job, but she's also Gossip Central. The guy who lives behind the police station keeps planting roses in the parking lot and then has fits when the police run over them. Anyone who's ever lived in a small town recognizes these folks.

The identity of the killer and the reason behind the murders were a bit obvious to me, but that didn't matter so much because I truly enjoyed getting to know this corner of Kansas and the entire cast of characters. This first book has set me up perfectly, and I can't wait to continue with the series.½

Offbeat but enjoyable mystery set in Kansas with an incipient tornado lurking.

Fourth, and most recent in the Mad Dog & Englishman mystery series featuring Sheriff English and his family and the wacky folks of Benteen County, Kansas. Like the previous books, this is a wild and wacky tale with odd sets of circumstances coming together to create utter chaos for a brief period of time. I think Mercury is in permanent retrograde in Benteen county. ::grin: This book comes complete with shoot ‘em up villains, small-town politics and religious nutters galore as election day arrives and the hot race being the one for Sheriff. Sheriff English is certain he’s going to lose, since the religious right has been whipped into a frenzy by his opponent and Englishman is decidedly moderate on the political scale. But he doesn’t even have time to vote himself as the day unfolds with his deputy Wynn (aka Win Some, Lose Some) crashing into a school bus full of kids during a high-speed chase before dawn even breaks, a shooting at the high school, and a man caught stuffing the ballot boxes. Mad Dog comes home from a spiritual retreat to find a bloody message on his door and his wolf/dog Hailey’s water poisoned, which eventually ties into Englishman’s business as well. Bizarre plot, crazy doings, and poor Sheriff English without a deputy to help—until he deputizes one of his daughters who came home from college after having a feeling that Englishman was in trouble. Boy, was she right! Enjoyable though intense and crazy, I do hope Hayes continues this series—but I’m caught up for now! Yay!

Third in the “Mad Dog & Englishman” series. Full of wry humor, bizarre happenings, interesting characters, and the very essence of small-town Midwestern life, this series set in Kansas and featuring Sheriff English and his half-brother Mad Dog, is in my opinion one of the most sadly overlooked and seldom talked-about mystery series out there. When a teenage boy, a member of a family doing a re-enactment of Cheyenne life in the 1860’s for PBS, dies with an authentic Cheyenne arrow in his back, Mad Dog is looked at as the first suspect. Until it’s determined that he was probably the intended victim, that is. Then, the bank is robbed and several crudely-made bombs explode at different locales in town accompanied by notes from a terrorist with terrible grammar, and Judy, Englishman’s wife, insists that they take a trip to Paris in the midst of it all. As the story progresses from one madcap scene to the next, there is a sense of total incredulity and frequent “No way!” exclamations from inside the brain, but also one of pause as you think, “Okay, I CAN see that happening after all…bizarre coincidence, but it could happen!” but not likely strung together in a series of events such as depicted in this book. Still, it’s highly entertaining and felt like a visit with well-loved friends once again. Was glad to see that Hayes had a fourth book in series published earlier this month—I look forward to it!

#2 in the Mad Dog & Englishman police mystery series set in small-town Kansas. Sheriff English has two dead bodies to deal with at the Sunshine Rest Home one cold winter morning—the first, a resident of the home who was dying of cancer, is missing. The second is a recently-born dead infant being toted around by one of the Alzheimer’s patients in place of her usual “baby doll.” Where did she get it, and to whom does it belong? Add the worst blizzard in a decade to the mix, and now the Sheriff has REAL problems! This book almost reads like a Guy Ritchie movie—a series of vignettes with different characters, quite violent yet funny as hell, all unknowingly connected, and all hurtling towards each other for one big messy climactic scene.

I feel that Hayes is a much-overlooked author, and I enjoyed this book even more than I did the first one…the whole thing was quite fantastical…and yet, you can see it happening because you know people as stupid as some of the baddies. It won’t be too long til I head on back to Buffalo Springs for another visit. The only thing I find annoying about this series of books is the total lack of chapters…sections are delineated with spaces between paragraphs or little icons…but that’s minor.