Hall, Russ 1949-

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Hall, Russ 1949-

PERSONAL:

Born 1949.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Marble Falls, TX. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer and former publishing professional.

MEMBER:

Mystery Writers of America, Western Writers of America.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Nancy Pickard Mystery Fiction Award, 1997.

WRITINGS:

World Gone Wrong, Brownell & Carroll (Newport Beach, CA), 1996.

The Blue-eyed Indian, Silver Phoenix Press (Austin, TX), 1997.

Wildcat Did Growl, Tropical Press (Miami, FL), 2000.

Island, Tropical Press (Miami, FL), 2001.

Bent Red Moon: A Western Story, Five Star (Waterville, ME), 2005.

"ESBETH WALTERS" MYSTERY NOVEL SERIES

No Murder before Its Time, Five Star (Waterville, ME), 2003.

Black Like Blood: An Esbeth Walters Mystery, Five Star (Waterville, ME), 2005.

Goodbye, She Lied: An Esbeth Walters Mystery, Five Star (Waterville, ME), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Russ Hall's sleuth Esbeth Walters is a retired math teacher in her seventies who becomes the bane of her Texas Hill Country sheriff's department when she insists on launching her own investigations into local crimes. In the first book in the "Esbeth Walters" mystery novel series, No Murder before Its Time, the sons of a local winemaker vie for control of the extensive family estate. Patriarch Win Castle, who is in failing health, structures the transfer of power to force brothers Kyle and Chaz to compete against each other. When Chaz is found dead in the winery fermentation room, Kyle immediately becomes the prime suspect—but when the family matriarch is also killed, investigators realize that almost everyone involved with the Castle family could have a motive to kill them. Esbeth, who gives tours of the winery, decides to take matters into her own hands, resulting in a story that Booklist reviewer Jenny McLarin hailed as suspenseful, gorgeously described, and "as spicy as a Texas merlot."

In the second book of the "Esbeth Walters" mystery novel series, Black Like Blood: An Esbeth Walters Mystery, Esbeth takes a part-time job as a police dispatcher just after the murder of a local town mayor. As she investigates the crime, Esbeth encounters tales of a lost diamond mine, the questionable charms of Texas Ranger Tillis Macrory, and an unsettling side story unearthed when the body of a long-time missing man is discovered by the murdered mayor's son.

In Goodbye, She Lied: An Esbeth Walters Mystery, the third book in the "Esbeth Walters" mystery novel series, Esbeth agrees to help her friend Boose get back a large sum of money that his elderly mother gave to a team of con artists. Much of the investigation takes place in the local nursing home, where Esbeth enlists retired forensic pathologist Gardner Burke to help her prove that the death of resident Vance Kilgore was not suicide, but murder. Along the way, the amateur sleuth uncovers a web of exploitation, betrayal, and murder. In a review of Goodbye, She Lied for Booklist, Sue O'Brien described Esbeth as an enjoyable protagonist and the novel as a "curious mix of a small-town cozy and [a] gritty crime novel." A writer for Kirkus Reviews also praised the novel and observed that "cartloads of down-home humor, amusing characters and a hint of romance for the feisty heroine" contribute to an "agreeable, if not especially innovative" story.

Among Hall's many stand-alone mysteries are World Gone Wrong, a thriller in which top U.S. political figures, each in a different state, are murdered. Federal and state investigators believe that the killers must be receiving inside information—but who in the inner circle of power could be plotting the politicians' demise? The high-stakes investigation brings Hall's protagonist, Michael Colby, reluctantly out of retirement as he heads a covert team determined to find and destroy the perpetrators before any other agency finds them. The killers, though, are aware of Michael's assignment. The threats get personal as well as political before matters are finally resolved.

Island is the story of two business executives on a deep-sea fishing vacation who are cast ashore in the Caribbean after a violent storm. Their situation becomes worse when they realize they have landed in the middle of a turf war between rival Jamaican weapons-smuggling teams. Deeming the novel an "intriguing thriller," Library Journal reviewer Rex E. Klett enjoyed the book's exciting action and memorable characters, as well as the narrator's deep musings on his circumstances.

Native American wars and cattle rustling provide the backdrop in Bent Red Moon: A Western Story, set in Texas Hill Country in the 1870s. Mick, a seventeen-year-old newcomer, and Syd, a Mexican girl, discover that they are both searching for Bill Hinton, Mick's only surviving relative and a man Syd is intent on murdering. In remarks quoted from the author's home page, W.C. Jameson hailed the novel as one of the best westerns of recent years.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 15, 2003, Jenny McLarin, review of No Murder before Its Time, p. 394; October 1, 2007, Sue O'Brien, review of Goodbye, She Lied: An Esbeth Walters Mystery, p. 35.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2007, review of Goodbye, She Lied.

Library Journal, October 1, 2001, Rex E. Klett, review of Island, p. 146.

Publishers Weekly, October 27, 2003, review of No Murder before Its Time, p. 47.