Texas sheriff Dan Rhodes, Bill Crider's able and amiable series protagonist, is presented with his latest challenge when Bud Turley brings him a 7-inch tooth he claims came from Bigfoot. The sheriff and a paleontologist agree it's more likely from a Columbian Mammoth fossil, a dime a dozen in Texas.

But soon after, in Big Woods where the tooth was discovered, Bud's Bigfoot-hunting friend Larry is found dead with his head bashed in, and there's a reported sighting. Then a nearby store owner is found killed by a blow that snapped her neck. Could there really be a Bigfoot? And could these recent violent deaths be related to a boy who went missing in the same area ten years ago? Whatever the cause, Big Woods is a dangerous place, where feral hogs roam freely and bad things happen.

A Mammoth Murder gently conveys a small town's familiarity. Through telling details, Crider creates a believable mix of residents with a sprinkling of visitors that includes two would-be writers and a rowdy band of Bigfoot hunters. The story moseys along at an amiable pace, allowing the reader to linger in sleepy Blacklin county and visit for a spell.