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Book Reviews of Drybone Hollow (Owen Allison, Bk 4)

Drybone Hollow (Owen Allison, Bk 4)
Drybone Hollow - Owen Allison, Bk 4
Author: John Billheimer
ISBN-13: 9780373265008
ISBN-10: 037326500X
Publication Date: 8/1/2004
Pages: 288
Rating:
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 8

3.3 stars, based on 8 ratings
Publisher: Worldwide Library
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

4 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed Drybone Hollow (Owen Allison, Bk 4) on + 286 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
"...a puzzle so ingenious that...readers shoulda seen it coming--but they won't"
SanJoseCa avatar reviewed Drybone Hollow (Owen Allison, Bk 4) on + 328 more book reviews
This story is full of quirky, well-drawn characters. If you enjoy "humor and homicide," and a very satisfying plot, this mystery novel is for you!
reviewed Drybone Hollow (Owen Allison, Bk 4) on + 3729 more book reviews
Failure analyst Owen Allison plans to return to Palo Alto to reconcile with his ex-wife Judith though he was delayed by his need to be with his mother in West Virginia when she underwent chemotherapy (see DISMAL MOUNTAIN). However, further problems in West Virginia postpone Owen's trip to the West Coast.
The dam by the Canaan II mine erupts, killing four and filling DRYBONE HOLLOW with coal sludge. Owner Anson Stoke hires Owen to persuade environmentalist Judge Carter Vereen that despite the toll, his operations remain safe and should stay open. Judge Vereen orders an investigation of all impoundment dams sitting on mines, which leads to state attorney general Hayes Boyer asking Owen to head the inquiry, but demanding a kickback of 15% of Owen's fee. Owen rejects the offer, but turns to his friend Sheriff Thad Reader to set a trap to expose those using fixed contracts, but the law enforcement official deals with a full plate already as a local has probably been abducted. So Owen plunges ahead knowing he will receive limited support from his buddy, but mine engineer Emily Kruk makes it worth while to stay in West Virginia a bit longer.
reviewed Drybone Hollow (Owen Allison, Bk 4) on + 43 more book reviews
Scamps and scalawags abound in Billheimer's fourth Owen Allison mystery (after 2001's Dismal Mountain), in which the transportation inspector returns to his native Barkley, W.Va., to help his ailing mother. When an impoundment dam atop the Canaan II coal mine bursts and sends a flood of coal slurry washing through nearby Drybone Hollow, wiping out a bridge, two trailers and a few unfortunate people, Owen finds his expertise as a "failure analyst" in great demand. The dam's collapse loosed not only the coal slurry but a horde of scam artists. While some of the scams are of the almost blameless sort, such as government fraud, others are more serious, such as defrauding the government. The author adroitly catches the phrases and speech patterns of oddball characters like the Reverend Moral Brody, who rides a Harley and wears a black leather jacket emblazoned with "HEAVEN'S ANGELS." A peaceable and decent sort, Owen is fond of the locals, but has a healthy appreciation of their deceitful ways. He needs all his patience and skill to untangle the deadly threats from the merely mendacious as kidnapping, kickbacks, blackmail, fraud and murder once again flow through coal country. Billheimer's West Virginia is unlikely to please the state's tourism bureau, but it's a fine place for readers to visit for humor and homicide.