Buck Fever

A Blanco County Mystery, Book 1

By: Ben Rehder

Narrated by: Johnny Peppers

Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

Edgar Award-nominated author Ben Rehder's Blanco County comic mysteries have made best-of-the-year lists in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Field & Stream. The novels have been optioned by Warner Brothers Horizon Scripted Television for development as a cable TV series.

Buck Fever: It's the week before deer hunting season, as close to a statewide holiday as you get in Texas, and the locals are getting restless. Game Warden John Marlin has his hands full with poaching complaints coming in faster than he can write out-of-season tickets. Then a call of a different sort comes in. A man dressed up in some sort of deer costume has been shot at the Circle S ranch, and witnesses are reporting a massive wild-eyed buck prancing about the pasture in a lovesick frenzy. Marlin's seen a lot in his years, but this is wilder than he could have imagined: the man in the deer suit is a good friend, and the whacked-out whitetail isn't exactly a stranger either.

It's the beginning of a mad, frantic weekend in Blanco County, one that will see a few more men shot, an invasion by Colombians with more than hunting on their minds, and damn near the end of Marlin's life. Ben Rehder serves it all up with a huge helping of humor in this debut comic mystery that will firmly establish him as the funniest crime writer in Texas.

©2002 Ben Rehder (P)2013 Ben Rehder

Texas redneck mystery featuring deer!

This book is the first in the game warden John Marlin series. I have listened to much worse, but there are too many really good mystery/thrillers out there to waste time on this. The novel was funny at times. The narration was excellent.

An absolute delight.

Would you consider the audio edition of Buck Fever to be better than the print version?

The narrator was one of the best I've ever heard. He navigated a wide, wide range of characters and made each of them distinctive and individual. He also portrayed some dumb and dumber characters with great humor but not an ounce of condescension. He was brilliant at making the characters often hilariously funny without making fun of them.

What did you like best about this story?

As humor, a traditional cozy, procedural, or thriller, “Buck Fever” joyously succeeds on every level. It begins as a delightfully humorous cozy mystery about a game warden in rural Texas. It then transitions smoothly into a crime story and then a thriller while maintaining a great sense of humor throughout. Creative, engrossing, often hilarious, and never condescending toward even its most absurd characters, “Buck Fever” richly deserves the acclaim it has received, including starred reviews in both Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly.

Any additional comments?

NOTE: the Kindle version is currently FREE and you can purchase the excellent, hilarious audio book for only $1.99. Get it while you can. It's a great introduction to a great series.

Ended Better Than it Began

I struggled to continue after the first couple of chapters. After a very slow beginning into which a ton of characters were thrown, this book settled down to a very interesting story. I was. completely surprised by the unexpected twists and turns.

A Sporting Try

While there are much better mysteries out there this was engaging and a nice way to spend a few hours. The only part that irritated me was the sex scene. Oh, look, we're captured by Colombian drug lords, let's have sex! Gimme a break. Interesting way to smuggle drugs though.

Highly Entertaining

What made the experience of listening to Buck Fever the most enjoyable?

The distinct Western twang and Columbian accent that Johnny Peppers gave each character was spot on.I could see each person clearly in my minds eye, even the women.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character had to be the 300 lb bumpkin. He had me laughing out loud more than once.

Which scene was your favorite?

I got a big kick out of the discovery of vet in the dear costume after he was shot. Or later when he was sent to tranquilize them.... tranquilize one dear, snort one line LOL

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I think when the game warden let the poacher slide because he knew the man would use every oz of his kill to feed his family.

Any additional comments?

This story was enjoyable from beginning to end. Hat's off to Ben Rehder for a job well done. I'll definitely be reading more of his work in the near future.

Wrong Narrator

Enjoyed the story very much. As
written it had quite a bit of humor in it, but narration was very dry almost dull. I purchased this with whisper sync and I enjoyed reading the story more than listening too it.

Buck Fever

Dope smugglers and hunting,how weird can it get?! Pretty weird,and funny.A really fun read! Johnny Peppers was a fine narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.' 

1.5 stars

1.5 stars. Mildly amusing at times. The characters are cliched, with the female characters written like a poorly drawn afterthought. (Oh, 'the hero' made a joke about my chest, as a grown women I think I will giggle).

Buck Fever

What a fun mystery to solve. So many things happen in this book that I stayed hooked all the way until the end. The narration was done really well and the accents were spot on.

Interesting start

An interesting start to a series. Multifaceted characters. Engaging mystery plot. Atypical law enforcement officer. Small town quirks and foibles. And, essential in my mind: a complete story without cliffhangers!!!

Stands alone, but better as part of the series.

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for a review.

Buck Fever

Dope smugglers and hunting,how weird can it get?! Pretty weird,and funny.A really fun read! Johnny Peppers was a fine narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'

Enjoyable

Enjoyed the audio book. The story was fine. Slow start but got moving. Narration was excellent.

easy

Johnny Peppers is a very narrator and easy to listen to.

An easy and good plot, Strong characters and funny, A really good mystery.

Great book

Lots of twists and turns to keep the brain ticking over
I really enjoyed this book and looking forward to reading others in the series
Thx Ben

Buck Fever

What a fun mystery to solve. So many things happen in this book that I stayed hooked all the way until the end. The narration was done really well and the accents were spot on.

Fun and entertaining

Format: audiobook
Narrator: Johnny Peppers
Ok so this story was full of stereotypes, Columbian drug dealers, corrupt sheriff, wealthy well connected land owner etc but I enjoyed it, it was fun, entertaining and had humour as well as danger.
This narrator does a good job, I’ve listened to a few stories narrated by him and in all honesty now I’d be more inclined to purchase an audiobook that appealed to me if it had this narrator.

Brilliant!!!

The author has a crazy sense of humour, which I loved. I found the first chapter hard, I'm not sure it piqued my interest in the beginning but I stuck with it and I am so glad I did.

The story is set in Texas and the narrator did a brilliant job with all the different voices/accents of each character. I would definitely listen to more of his audiobooks. He really brought the characters to life.

There were a lot of stories going on within the story so, after the first chapter, it flowed really fast with many laugh out loud moments

(I was given a copy of this audiobook, at my request, for free in exchange for an honest review, good or bad)

Very good listen

I enjoyed this book very much. I became more absorbed as it went along. It was a well thought out story.

Very Enjoyable Read

A very enjoyable book, the storyline is fast paced and keeps your interest to the very end. There is humour aplenty and this adds to the overall enjoyment of the book. Johnny Peppers is a first class narrator able to use different accents and voices to portray the different characters in the book. I would highly recommend this book and i am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Beat the fever rush and enjoy this book

I enjoyed this book. This book has been sat on my kindle waiting to be read for ages and I have never got around to it. I should have done because I really enjoyed the audio book version. The story is told by several characters which got a bit confusing at the beginning, trying to keep.them all straight but as the story develops everything became clear and it turned into a good mystery with a lot going on, so it kept you hooked until the end. I liked the mystery and found the plot very unusual. The characters were likeable, even if they did keep hunting animals and at times were quiet funny. I could definitely see this being made in to a tv show. I look forward to starting the next book.
With deer hunting season about to start John Marlin as a game warden is gearing up for a busy week, catching poachers and checking licenses. He had no idea that he would be the one under fire. It starts with a Buck acting strange and a man in a deer costume getting shot. Then a body in discovered in a crumbling bridge and his good friend Coby gets attacked in his own home. Evidence is found and then disappears and all that is before the out of town hunters arrive . Can John and Coby work out what is going on and keep Buck (the deer they rescued) alive until the end of the season? Or will corrupt cops and rich political men stand in there way? And where do the Mexican man come in?
I liked the narrator and thought he did a good job with all the different characters needed to bring this story to life.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.