Death at the Black Bull

Hayward is a sleepy Southwestern town full of cattle, trucks, and tumbleweeds. Virgil Dalton's been the sheriff for over a dozen years and has lived there all his life. It's a place where everybody pretty much knows everybody-but they don't know each other's secrets . . . Buddy Hinton is just a good ole boy. So when he disappears after a night drinking at the Black Bull, his friends just figure he went down to Mexico to find himself a girlfriend and eventually will come...
More Description

Hayward is a sleepy Southwestern town full of cattle, trucks, and tumbleweeds. Virgil Dalton's been the sheriff for over a dozen years and has lived there all his life. It's a place where everybody pretty much knows everybody-but they don't know each other's secrets . . .

Buddy Hinton is just a good ole boy. So when he disappears after a night drinking at the Black Bull, his friends just figure he went down to Mexico to find himself a girlfriend and eventually will come back. But this case quickly becomes a homicide after the sheriff discovers the missing man floating in one of his stock tanks.

For a man who wasn't known to have enemies, Buddy clearly upset someone. Figuring out who that was will require Virgil and his deputy, Jimmy, to retrace Buddy's last steps-and to remain a step ahead of a murderer who may have no qualms about killing again . . .

'Move over, Walt Longmire. There's a new sheriff in town. Virgil Dalton is the kind of character that comes along maybe once a decade-a classic Western hero and so much more. When you're done with Frank Hayes' stellar debut,Death at the Black Bull, you'll smell the sagebrush in the air and have to clean the dust off your boots. An absolute must-read for fans of Craig Johnson and Tony Hillerman.' Reed Farrel Coleman, Shamus Award-winning author ofThe Hollow Girl
'This is one of the most impressive debut crime novels I've ever read. There's such depth and humanity in the characters, such tension in the story itself, and the sense of place is as good as it gets. I know I'll be reading every book in this series!' Steve Hamilton, Edgar Award-winning author ofLet It Burn