If you buy the premise you will buy the book. There is a separatist group in Idaho located at the New Star Ranch (Indicating a 51st star on the American flag). For some reason the leader of the movement finds it necessary to kill off a small town sheriff in Virginia along with his college president wife. Maybe I missed in all the verbiage why he needs to do this but it was hazy to me. Maybe the connection was made in an earlier book in the series but I didn't see it. I could never buy into this and especially what they find is going on at the ranch at the book's end. ( )

This is the tenth book in Ramsay’s series featuring Ike Schwartz, the sheriff of fictional Picketsville, Virginia, a small town some three hours southwest of Washington, D.C. Ike is a former CIA agent, and recently married to Ruth, the wise-cracking president of the town’s university. If you add a lot of sexual innuendo into the mix, the interaction between Ike and Ruth is reminiscent of that between Robert B. Parker’s detective Spenser and his sidekick Hawk. There is a lot of laugh-out-loud repartee between the two of them.

As the story begins, someone has tried to kill Ike, and it looks like a highly professional job, even though by pure luck (for Ike, at least), someone else is killed instead.

Ike and Ruth go into hiding, and Ike’s CIA friend Charlie Garland tries to help them find out who did this and why. The path leads to a white supremacist “patriots” group in Idaho.

As Ike discovers more and more unsavory aspects to the group, he decides he wants to put the leader out of action at any cost. Ruth doesn’t want Ike to get in any more danger, but Ike argues in favor of taking action. Reminding Ruth of how the big wheels behind the financial collapse in 2008 not only got away with what they did, but received bonuses for their trouble, he points out:

“. . . there are some people in this society who are permitted to skate on moral thin ice because they are just that - too big, too important, too connected, or too rich, to bring down. They will have alibis, fall guys, high priced lawyers, and friends in high places who will grease the skids for them, or enough money to flee the country to a venue with which we have no extradition treaty and, by the way, take their money with them. This guy is one of those people. He might be impossible to bring down the right way.”

And that’s part of the appeal of this book, and I presume of other books in the series. Mixed in with all the wise-cracking is a profound and passionate dedication to social justice.

Discussion: The editor of this book notes its similarity to books by Robert B. Parker, and indeed, the dialogue is snappy, funny, and reads like stand-up comedy much of the time. To me, that’s a bit of a drawback, since I don’t think it emulates real-life dialogue, but to Jim, who read this as well and is a big Robert Parker fan, it’s a definite plus.

Evaluation: Regardless of your position on whether or not the dialogue sounds realistic, the plot is interesting and the book is fun. The author has an impressive background, having been in academia, the military, the media, and the clergy. All of these influences show in his work.

Both of us are eager to read more of his books. ( )

The Vulture An Ike Schwartz Mystery by Frederick Ramsay is about Picketsville Sheriff Ike Schwartz and his University President wife Ruth. The book starts with an explosion of action, literally! Sheriff Schwartz is thought dead, and his wife has had an attempt made on her life. They have no idea just how far Martin Pangborn and the Fifty-First Star will go to ensure that they are dead.
This book has so many relateable characters and the story line makes this a page turner. You will not want to put it down. Great job Frederick Ramsey!!! ( )

While this book may be the 10th in the series, it is easy for the reader to just jump right in even having never read the other nine. Ike has a law enforcement past that is catching up with him. In this book, he narrowly escaped death from the first page. It is a fast-paced page turner. Even though I'm not a huge fan of this genre, I found it hard to put it down! Definitely worth a read! ( )

A fast-paced thriller with a minimum of graphic violence. When Ike Schwartz's car blows up, everyone is convinced the small-town sheriff is dead. When it's discovered that the bomb was also meant to kill Ike's wife, the investigation leads to people with money and influence and a dangerous interpretation of patriotism. While the story deals with some sensitive material, it's handled mostly-off-page and there is a minimum of blood and gore. The plot is intricate with a cast of good guys working multiple approaches to discover and get proof of who is responsible for the bomb and a number of other crimes. While there are a few convenient coincidences and at least one decision that seems very out of character, the overall story is an easy, enjoyable read.

Note: this review is based on an ARC from the publisher ( )