Texas Panic!
A Jim Bob
Masterson Mystery
Harry
Haines
Mayhaven Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-932278-60-5 (1932278605)
ISBN-13: 978-1-932278-60-6 (9781932278606)
Publication Date: October 2009
List Price: $19.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): B-S-E spells death. Cattle or human -- if you get it,
you will die.
The Washington Post
calls Texas veterinarian Dr. James Robert Masterson the "World's
Foremost Expert" in BSE -- Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, more
commonly referred to as mad cow disease. Jim Bob, as he is known to
friends and family, achieved his celebrity through a test he invented,
a remarkable accomplishment considering the fact that Texas has never
had a case of BSE.
Until now.
The story opens when a cow slips and goes down in a feed yard in
Sagebrush, Texas, a tiny rural community sixty-five miles north of
Amarillo. Bearing in mind that there are thirty-five million cattle in
the Texas Panhandle, where one-third of the nation's fed beef is
produced, one "downer" would hardly seem noteworthy.
But two factors escalate the seriousness of the incident. First, this
is the health scare with everything -- a gruesomely exotic disease,
unknown dangers, bungling bureaucrats, and a common food item found in
virtually every home. And second, the sensation-hungry American press
finds the story irresistible.
Jim Bob is sure they have a false alarm. BSE has to come from
somewhere. Infected prions don't mutate or appear spontaneously. But
"The Masterson Test" becomes suspect as the USDA struggles to confirm
its diagnosis. Meanwhile the panic escalates. Cattle futures tank. Beef
processing plants close. Millions of Texas cattle become worthless.
Billions are at stake.
Review: Texas
panhandle veterinarian James Robert "Jim Bob" Masterson is caught up in
a possible disaster involving cattle owners, feed chains, the stock
market, even banks in Texas Panic,
the second thriller in this series by Harry Haines.
A single case of the disease has been identified in Spokane,
Washington, on Christmas Eve. The diseased cow had been brought in from
Canada. Immediately all cattle purchases from Canada had been stopped.
Was this a case of too little too late? It isn’t long after that
a rancher in Sagebush, Texas, observes one or two of his cows showing
signs of the disease. Jim Bob Masterson, an authority on diseases of
cattle, is called in to test and ascertain the condition of the cows.
It is, indeed, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or BSE -- mad cow
disease. How could this happen in the Texas panhandle? The disease has
to come from an infection transferred from an infected animal or its
remains. Virtually no West Texas operations bring in stock from areas
where the infectious animals were found or known to exist -- and those
that are brought in are subject to rigorously testing. It would seem
that for all intents and purposes it would be impossible for an
outbreak to occur here. Yet, here it is. When asked by the media why
such a fuss was being made over a few cows dying, Jim Bob answers,
“Humans or cattle, once you get it you die.”
On the home front, Jim Bob's daughter is in a contest to sing with the
Metropolitan Opera. His wife of twenty-seven years and his
mother-in-law want him to be at their side, showing support for his
talented daughter. Although he has every intention to be supportive,
the possibility of a mad cow disease outbreak is his first concern. Jim
Bob has a small ranch, but one of his friends has a ranch with a total
of 490,000 head of cattle, worth nearly half a million dollars, a total
loss if any of the herd exhibits signs of the disease and all put down.
Even if the herd doesn't show sign of the disease, but the government
could order all cattle be slaughtered. The stock market has plummeted,
and bankruptcy at the Texas State Bank seems just round the corner.
Everyone from the cattle ranchers, to those dependent on them,
including veterinarians, are concerned about their futures. Jim Bob
must find the cause of the outbreak in Texas -- and soon -- before the
FBI and USDA decide to kill every cow in Texas.
Texas Panic is an
absorbing account of how a local incident, a "what if scenario", can
have national ramifications. The potential for disaster is very
realistically envisioned, the plot well paced. But the book is
primarily a character study, a story about family and friends,
cooperation and collaboration, fear and hope. It is especially from
this perspective that makes it a truly exceptional novel.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Texas Panic! and to Harry Haines for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Texas Panic!? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Orphan
Mayhaven Publishing (Hardcover), June 2008
ISBN-10: 1-932278-56-7 (1932278567)
ISBN-13: 978-1-932278-56-9 (9781932278569)
Texas Panic!
Mayhaven Publishing (Hardcover), October 2009
ISBN-10: 1-932278-60-5 (1932278605)
ISBN-13: 978-1-932278-60-6 (9781932278606)
Omnimystery keywords for Texas Panic! ...
Location(s) referenced: Texas.
