The Blight Way

A Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery

By: Patrick F. McManus

Narrated by: Charles Leggett

Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

Bo Tully is the sheriff of Blight County, Idaho, where law enforcement is usually pretty mundane: tracking down truants running away from school, picking up country boys who've had a few too many beers. But Tully gets a little more than the country norm when an ex-con calls with the startling news that there's a corpse draped across one of his fences. Tully needed a birthday present for his Pap (the retired sheriff) anyway, so the two of them head out to investigate the murder. In a tone that's one minute wise-cracking and the next...well, still wise-cracking...Tully and Pap use their wiles to figure out what's happening in this little and not-so-dull town.

©2006 Patrick F. McManus (P)2006 The Audio Partners

Critic Reviews

"A brisk, hilarious smalltown cop mystery." (Publishers Weekly)

Lots of fun and no bad language

The caracters in this book are just that..characters, and I hated to see the book end. I loved the way this author handled profanity, humorously with out actually using it.
Some books have way to may four letter words for my taste. When this book was over, I hurried to audible to see if there were any more books by this author about these folks and was very disapointed not to find any.

WHAT A TREAT

For anyone who has ever read McManus' previous books of delightful essays or his shaggy dog stories you will be delighted and for mystery readers you should be happy also, plot is well done, characters are great, and pace is perfect. am really looking forward to many more of this series.

A rare delight

The Blight Way is that rare delight, a humorous mystery that is both laugh-out-loud funny and at the same time, a fair whodunnit. The narrator is absolutely superb at characterizing each and every role -- a genuine talent whom I hope we will hear much more from. Highly recommended.

What a plesant surprise!

I've been a fan of Patrick McManus for years, I enjoy his brand of humor. But I could only read about 3 chapters of any of his books of short stories before having to quit from the headache the laughing gave me.
What a surprise to listen to "The Blight Way"! It has the same humor, but woven into a genuine storyline that, unlike the discount tent, actually holds water. We listened to it on a trip in the car and my wife liked it as well.

Well worth the time and money.

A fun departure

As a fan of McManus' humor, I found a great deal of fun in this tale, even though it was so different than the things he usually writes. There was plenty to chuckle at, some long-prepared gags, and still a fun mystery to be solved that was not at all spoiled for the occasional bits of lightheartedness. I really had a great time with it.

A Great Listen

This book gets better each time I listen to it.

The Blight Way

We enjoyed this book as much as we have any of McManus'. It presents a new theme, one which we hope to hear more of in the future. McManus is one of our favorite humorists, and this book kept us riveted on one of our mountain trips.

Excellent Narration

While the descriptions of hokey, pokey rural life were a little too close to a sore nerve for my taste, I still enjoyed this audiobook very much. I would give this one a 3.5 out of 5.

One thing I especially enjoyed was the skillful narration. There was a disctinctly different voice for each character. I don't know how the narrator managed such deft changes of pitch, timbre and cadence! This masterful narration brought the characters to life for me.

The story line was nicely constructed as well, revealing the plot in careful layers.

I would very possibly read another book by this author again. I would enjoy seeing how he grows with his craft.

A cozy mystery with a giggle -

I listen to this audiobook several times a year. The narration by Leggett is a perfect pairing for the incredible wit and writing style of Patrick McManus. If you love a good storyteller, McManus was the best -

A mystery by McManus

I've read lots of McManus' humorous works and always enjoyed them. I was curious to see how he would do with a mystery novel.

He did ok. The biggest criticism I have is that I thought you could see the structure of the plot a little too obviously. But it's good and workmanlike, and kept my interest.

As others have said, the narrator really makes this book. His style is laconic and a bit understated, and it really works well. It took me a little bit to get used to it, but I was a big fan after a couple of chapters.