Straight-shooter Rehder sends up players on both sides of the gun control debate in his fifth Blanco County mystery (after 2005's Guilt Trip
), a humorous, intelligent take on a serious issue. John Marlin, a sure-footed game warden and Texas peace officer, doesn't believe in blaming guns instead of criminals for crime, but his views on Second Amendment rights are tested by a National Weapons Alliance (NWA) rally, planned for July 4 at the ranch of country and western superstar Mitch Campbell. Addled by 'shrooms, Mitch accidentally kills a Mexican gardener and turns to the smarmy NWA Texas chapter president, Dale Stubbs, for help covering up the crime. Meanwhile, SNATCH (Society of Nonviolent Americans to Control Handguns) plans a protest of the NWA rally. Subplots include NWA applicant Red O'Brien's ill-conceived schemes to sell a ditty to Mitch Campbell and former sitcom star Sabrina Nash's quest to prevent the release of the convict who years earlier shot her young son to death. This satire packs firepower and poignant surprises. (May)
