Mystery
In the depths of the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps to provide jobs for millions of unemployed boys fresh out of high school. From 1933-42, CCC crews constructed roads and trails on public land and erected buildings still used today, including a half-dozen stone cottages at Big Bend National Park in Brewster County, Texas.
In the fifth book of the Big Bend Country Mysteries series, Professor Claire Harp is supposed to be in one of those Roosevelt Cabins when an assault occurs on a Hollywood star who claimed the room for herself. It’s the second in what proves to be a string of attacks, all accompanied by cryptic messages left behind to insult the victims and taunt law enforcement.
Bewildered officials—including Sheriff Clayton Shoot—don’t know what to make of the veiled threats or how to move their investigation forward.
If intricate plots, memorable characters, nasty crimes (murder included), and a touch of humor get your pages turning, you’ll likely enjoy the five Big Bend Country Mysteries. They’ll transport you to the largest county in Texas tight up against the Rio Grande, with its surprising mountains, sprawling ranches, lots of cactus, and well-armed people. It’s a world you won’t soon forget.
J. J. Rusz is the pen name of John J Ruszkiewicz, creator of the Big Bend Country Mysteries. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, earned a BA from St. Vincent College in 1972 and a PhD in English from The Ohio State University in 1977. The author of a wide range of college textbooks, including Everything’s an Argument, he is now retired from the University of Texas at Austin, where he taught literature, rhetoric, and composition for 40 years. He currently resides in Brewster County, Texas.