Prairie Gothic

“Oddball . . . half-brothers” and other “colorful characters . . . have all sorts of . . . mischief on their minds” in this humorous mystery set in small town Kansas (Chicago Tribune).

As a howling blizzard blows down upon the sparsely-populated Benteen County seat of Buffalo Springs, Kansas, Sheriff English encounters a doll and a dead baby. Their bodies have been switched, but by whom? And why? The elderly coroner disclaims any knowledge, but seems uneasy when a swastika is revealed on the tiny corpse.

Meanwhile, the sheriff's part-Cheyenne half-brother, “Mad Dog” Maddox, has collected a naked body from the Sunshine Towers retirement home and is headed toward a treetop burial when he is diverted by the storm. In a makeshift mound nearby, Mad Dog's pet wolf-dog hybrid finds a child's skull, evidence of adult bones, and a fading ID for a living County Supervisor. Can the Hornbaker clan really be as gothic as it seems? And what of the tiny woman in the red shoes back at the Towers who calls herself Dorothy. . . ?

“With zany, lovable characters and a plot that hurtles along with the momentum of a wacky action movie, this comic mystery will appeal to fans of Joan Hess' Maggody series.” —Booklist

“This macabre, witty look at life and death on the Great Plains should win Hayes new fans.” —Publishers Weekly