THE BLIGHT WAY

Idaho humorist Patrick McManus, author of more than a dozen bestselling books of comic essays on rural life, ventures into the green fields of mystery fiction with exemplary results. Humor is to be found, not as broad but still believable, in the dialogue between the characters. Sheriff Tully is the latest of a string of sheriffs named Tully, including his 75-year-old retired father, Pap. Reader Charles Leggett captures the voice of the exasperated, spry old man, as well as those of a half-dozen major characters and lots of minor ones. The plot concerns some city slickers murdered in a drug dispute, with locals strongly implicated. A great collaboration. D.R.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 06]