Mean-spirited restaurant owner Sylvester Bradshaw jealously guards a machine he has developed that purifies food and makes his catfish the best in Texas. One night someone breaks into his office, steals the machine, and Sylvester goes missing. The finger of blame points to any number of characters who might like Sylvester's machine for themselves: an overextended pro football legend and his family, a suspicious lawyer, Sylvester's own browbeaten sons, even a kindly old doctor.

When no one else seems to care about Sylvester's disappearance, his daughter approaches retired Texas Ranger Jeremiah Spur to help find her father. Meanwhile, a local epidemic of food poisoning appears to somehow be connected to Sylvester's mysterious machine.

Where Armadillos Go to Die is the third outing for Jeremiah Spur, a wise ex-lawman in a somewhat helter-skelter Texas town. He bears similarities to Bill Crider's Sheriff Dan Rhodes. Another continuing character is Clyde Thomas, a black former deputy now trying to make it as a PI. Both men are unique and complex enough that readers will enjoy figuring them out. The story builds suspense by frequently revisiting a handful of plots set in motion over the course of one night. The folksy tone of the narrative and earthy figures of speech add rural charm to this lighthearted, engrossing book, and give Where Armadillos Go to Die some true Texas twang.