Death Rides Again

Texas high school teacher and amateur sleuth Jocelyn Shore is full of true grit in the latest novel in this winning [and] humorous ( Publishers Weekly ) series from award-winning author Janice Hamrick.

Texas high school teacher Jocelyn Shore had been looking forward to spending Thanksgiving at her Uncle Kel’s ranch, but her visit takes an unexpected turn when she discovers Uncle Kel threatening his son-in-law Eddy with a shotgun. It seems that Kel, who is hosting the whole Shore clan, is none too happy about how Eddy has been treating his daughter Ruby June and tensions are about to boil over.

Hamrick, who deftly mixes homicide with humor and passion with prevarication, again offers her readers characters with personas as big as Texas and a plot with as many twists as back roads in the Hill Country.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Eddy’s life is spared but now Ruby June has gone missing. Once again, Eddy takes the heat from the Shores. But before there’s even time for the police to conduct a full investigation, Jocelyn and her sometime-boyfriend, Austin homicide detective Colin Gallagher, find Eddy’s body at the bottom of a caliche pit. Unfortunately, all eyes including Colin’s are on Jocelyn’s family as the most likely suspects. While Colin assists the local police, Jocelyn decides to investigate on her own. Her hunt turns up a shady ranch manager, a mysterious racehorse owner, and an overly persistent goat, but no sign of Ruby June or a killer, who is poised to strike again in Janice Hamrick’s terrific cozy mystery Death Rides Again.

[An] entertaining blend of realistically quirky characters, tartly humorous writing, and generous dash of romance.
Booklist