Synopsis (from
the publisher):
Attending the Yaqui tribe's Easter Ceremonies in Tucson should be a
dream come true for a Cheyenne wannabe shaman like Mad Dog. But
immediately after his midnight arrival and a thousand-mile drive from
Kansas, things turn nightmarish. Mad Dog is accused of being a witch
and, moments later, a policeman is murdered and Mad Dog is blamed. That
makes Mad Dog and his wolf-hybrid, Hailey, targets for a city-wide
manhunt with shoot-first overtones.
Mad Dog's niece, Heather English, a part-time deputy for her father in
Kansas, combs Tucson's mean streets to arrange a peaceful surrender or
clear her uncle by finding the real killer.
Meanwhile, someone has blown Mad Dog's house off the face of the Great
Plains. Sheriff English, investigates that crime and acts as a
long-distance go-between for Arizona law enforcement and his daughter
and brother.
At least Mad Dog can tell the sheriff who killed the cop. Mad Dog has
been playing a massive online computer game, War of Worldcraft. There,
a vampire wizard has made a habit of tormenting him. He recognized the
monster as the cop killer at the Yaqui ceremonies. Somehow, he says,
the creature has reached out of the game to come after him in the real
world. The sheriff isn't convinced. Not until he begins receiving
threats from a vampire wizard on his office computer. The ghost in the
machine promises death for Mad Dog and explicit and horrible tortures
for Heather—half a country away, and all before dawn.
— ◊ —
— ◊ —
Server Down
A Mad Dog
and Englishman Mystery
J. M.
Hayes
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-627-1 (1590586271)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-627-3 (9781590586273)
Publication Date: May 2009
List Price: $24.95
— ◊ —
Review: Harvey
Edward "Mad Dog" Maddox and his brother Sheriff English return in
another amusing outing in Server Down,
the fifth mystery in this series by J. M. Hayes.
Mad Dog takes a contrarian view to just about everything. His current
target is the Benteen County Board of Supervisors who are leaning
towards approving the construction of an ethanol plant in the area that
will provide jobs for county residents. But then Mad Dog takes off for
Tucson with his wolf Hailey to attend a local Native American ceremony
during which a police officer is murdered, stabbed with Mad Dog's Swiss
Army knife. Sheriff English sends his daughter Heather, a part-time
deputy, to pick up her uncle and return him home. While he's in
Arizona, someone blows up Mad Dog's house in Kansas. English must not
only figure out who bombed his brother's house but if it's related in
any way to what's going on in Tucson. When he finally gets in touch
with him, Mad Dog, still on the run, claims a creature from the
computer game War of Worldcraft is the culprit and is after him, even
framing him for murder. But the threats continue and get even more
personal: they now include Heather.
"Madcap" (but in a good way) is the word that comes to mind while
reading Server Down.
Everything is just slightly over-the-top, from the characters to the
settings to the situations everyone finds themselves in. Frequently
frenetic with a somewhat convoluted plot (non-gamers, for example, may
have a more difficult time apprecriating the nuances of an online,
multi-player game and relating it to the plot), it's entertaining
nonetheless -- but not likely to everyone's taste.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Server Down and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Server Down? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Mad
Dog and Englishman
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), November 2000
ISBN-10: 1-890208-49-3 (1890208493)
ISBN-13: 978-1-890208-49-3 (9781890208493)
Prairie
Gothic
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), January 2003
ISBN-10: 1-59058-050-8 (1590580508)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-050-9 (9781590580509)
Plains
Crazy
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), October 2004
ISBN-10: 1-59058-132-6 (1590581326)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-132-2 (9781590581322)
Broken Heartland
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), November 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59058-452-X (159058452X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-452-1 (9781590584521)
Server Down
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), May 2009
ISBN-10: 1-59058-627-1 (1590586271)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-627-3 (9781590586273)
Omnimystery keywords for Server Down ...
Location(s) referenced: Kansas, Tucson, Arizona.
