The Double-Jack Murders

Lucas Kincaid, an escaped killer, is planning to get even with Blight County (Idaho) sheriff Bo Tully, who put him behind bars, in McManus's amusing third Sheriff Bo Tully mystery (after 2008's Avalanche ). Tully insists that the crazed Kincaid's being on the loose has nothing to do with him taking a little camping vacation with his father, Pap, and friend Dave Perkins. Tully figures the camping trip might draw out Kincaid, but his primary purpose is to try to solve the disappearance of gold miner Tom Link and his helper, Sean O'Boyle, in 1927. The two miners were exploring a vein of ore in the Snowy Mountains when they went missing. The college-educated Tully is no rube. An artist of considerable talent and a clever politician, he's also a backwoodsman who rambles through encounters with women, lawbreakers and abandoned mines with the sangfroid of the most sophisticated lawman. Plenty of unusual and colorful characters add to the fun. (Oct.)