Nobody Knows His Name

Rating:
Summary: A really good story with unexpected surprises
Review: I was pleased to see Sheriff Valdez tackle his latest challenge, the murder of a handless, decayed corpse, with the same methodical, step-by-step, cover-all-the-bases expertise I remember from reading the first of the Valdez mysteries. Again I enjoyed his fine tuned orchestration of his deputies and his extensive network of contacts and experts.
I have discovered that this series is a great way to learn the intricacies and subtleties of law enforcement.
This second book brings into focus, more sharply than the first, the many faceted world of the county sheriff. While trying to concentrate on solving a perplexing murder, Valdez must deal simultaneously with a local crime lord (one of several characters from book one), ... harassment in his department, loose-tongued deputies, overzealous citizens, misinformed complainers, people with hidden agendas, and slanderers. Amazingly, all these problems, when understood, have some relationship to the main thread of the story.
Valdez again harnesses modern technology in his quest to find the guilty parties, winding up in the wilds of Mexico and finding himself in the domain of the FBI and the INS. This time he come much closer to cashing in, before the final pieces of the puzzle fall in place. It's a really good mystery.

Olin Johnson
Woodlands, TX

Rating:
Summary: Nobody Knows His name
Review: This is an excellent book to read. Sheriff Jerry Valdez is a very sharp fellow. The sheriff is intelligent, witty, charming, and tough. His law degree helps out occasionally, but mainly he is very good at figuring out what is relevant and what is not about a crime scene. He doesn't like lies and liars.

The body's condition isn't very amenable to identification, but the sheriff's intellect and doggedness prove up to the task.

The book kept me up far past my usual bedtime. I couldn't put it down. I can hardly wait for the next one.