Ben Rehder’s Blanco County mysteries, Buck Fever, Bone Dry, Flat Crazy, Guilt Trip, and Gun Shy, have made best-of-the-year lists in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews.He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, Holy Moly, and reported the following:
I’m known for writing humorous mysteries, and page 69 of Holy Moly is certainly no exception. That particular excerpt is simply ripe with hysterical lines. Take this exchange, for instance:
“How long was he there?” Tatum asked.
“Maybe fifteen minutes.”
“Any idea why he chose you?”
“None.”
Come on, is that a zinger or what? You’re cracking up, right? No? Hmm. All right, then try this one-two punch:
“What’d he say?”
“Nothing. He thanked me for my time and left.”
Okay, hold on a second. I’m sensing something. It turns out page 69 really isn’t that funny. In that scene, my protagonist (game warden John Marlin) and a couple of cops are asking a university professor some questions about a dinosaur fossil. The fossil, it seems, has played a role in a recent murder. For some reason—despite the fact that dinosaur fossils are the funniest comic device since the whoopee cushion—I wrote the scene in a straightforward manner. What was I thinking? How did I mishandle such a great opportunity for levity?
Well, let me say this: The rest of the novel is downright hilarious. A regular laugh riot. You’ll giggle, you’ll chortle, you’ll guffaw, you might even titter.
No, really. Trust me.
Visit the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.
--Marshal Zeringue
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