This is edited from two posts I made some time ago about John
R. Riggs:
Riggs's Garth Ryland lives in a small town in Wisconsin. He
is the editor/owner of the Oakalla Reporter. The series
features a number of recurring town characters and a lot of
driving around on rural roads in the quirky car Garth
inherited from his grandmother. Garth receives help and
information from Ruth, his feisty elderly housekeeper who is
a clearinghouse on town gossip.
Must be a cozy, right? Hell, it sounds like it could be a CBS
mystery, complete with Angela Lansbury in the role of
Ruth.
There is a bit of humor, but this series is far more about
the darkness hiding in the hearts of these small town people,
with all of the bitter rivalries, jealousies and secrets you
might find in a big city. They may even be worse than a in
big city because they have been allowed to fester for so long
while living in close proximity with the offender, who
becomes a daily reminder.
The first in the series, The Last Laugh, is particularly
macabre as Garth tries to figure out if a man was buried
alive and if he was, was it part of a practical joke gone
dreadfully wrong or was it intentional? Along the way, Garth
is forced to suspect his best friend, which is further
complicated by the fact that he is in love with the suspect's
wife. The whole series is written in a dark, borderline
depressed voice. I guess you could shelf Riggs with the
smalltown noir of K.C. Constantine (okay, Rocksburg isn't
exactly a smalltown, but it ain't a big city, either) and
Archer Mayor.
Mark
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 10 Jan 2006 EST