Fans who have been howling for another chance to cheer for Jo Beth Sidden and her kennel of bloodhounds, who haven't followed a trail since Ten Little Bloodhounds
(1999), can rejoice. Not only is the feisty heroine from Balsa City, Ga., back for her sixth outing, but her love life gets a real work out. After a six-week fling, Jo Beth and Sheriff Hank Cribbs decide that their hot but volatile relationship is too costly to continue. Besides, a handsome hunk's in town on a sad occasion and Jo Beth thinks she may be of some help. And then there's Jimmy Joe Lane, a swamp rat and inveterate prison escapee who's developed a crush on Jo Beth. His many kin regard Jimmy Joe, who's managed to parlay an original 90-day sentence into a debt of more than 40 years, as something of a legend. When Jimmy Joe makes his nearly inevitable next jailbreak, he can't wait to begin turning his fantasies about Jo Beth into reality. Lanier mines the situation's comic possibilities nicely without straying into farce and, as usual, turns an expert eye on bloodhounds and their care and training in this warmly entertaining concoction. (Aug. 5)
FYI:The series' debut title,
Death in Bloodhound Red (1995), won the Anthony Award and copped nominations for Agatha and Macavity awards as well.
