Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Hal Chase, Clyde Engle, Earl Moore, Walter Blair, Russ Ford, Larry Schlafly, Baldy Louden, Fred Anderson, Ed Porray, Frank Delahanty, Joe Agler, Bill Collins, Tex Mcdonald, Tom Downey, Jack Snyder, Harry Moran, Dan Woodman, Bob Smith, Del Young, Fred Smith, Al Schulz, Charlie Hanford, Nick Allen, Gene Krapp. Excerpt:Albert Christopher Schulz (May 12, 1889 in Toledo, Ohio December 13, 1931 in Gallipolis, Ohio ), was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1912-1916. He would play for the New York Yankees , Buffalo Buffeds , and Cincinnati Reds . Websites (URLs online) A hyperlinked version of this chapter is at Baldy Louden William P. "Baldy" Louden (August 27, 1883 December 8, 1935), was a Major League Baseball infielder who played six seasons in the Major Leagues with the New York Highlanders (1907), Detroit Tigers (1912 1913), Buffalo Buffeds (1914 1915), and Cincinnati Reds (1916). Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , Louden played mostly at second base (313 games) and shortstop (176 games). Over six years, Louden played in 603 Major League games and had a .261 batting average and a .355 on base percentage. Louden was earning $2,700 a year with the Tigers when he chose to join Buffalo of the Federal League in 1914. Louden had his most productive seasons with the "Buffeds." In 1914, he was among the Federal League's leaders with a .313 batting average (8th highest), .391 on base percentage (10th highest), and 35 stolen bases (8th highest). When the Federal League folded in 1916, Louden moved to the Cincinnati Reds , where he hit .219 while leading National League second basemen in fielding average. In 1912 with Detroit, his Range factor was 5.61 in 87 games at 2nd base 0.86 points higher than the league average for second basemen. His Range ... ... Read more

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The Secret Guide to Computers is a large, softcover book written by computer expert Russ Walter. Its various editions have been in publication for about thirty years. The latest edition is the 30th for 2008, released in September 2007. The current edition is a single volume, and weighs in at 575 pages. Previous editions were either pamphlets (very early editions) or multi-volume sets.The Secret Guide has attracted a cult following because of Russ Walter's distinctive, hilarious writing, its low price (under $20), and the author's extreme devotion to his readers. He refers to himself as "Russy-Poo" (and instructs his readers to do the same) and gives out his phone number in the book, in case any questions come up.The Guide covers everything relating to computers, from their hardware to their software to their history. Many people have learned to program using the Guide. ... Read more

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Esbeth Walters is 72 and shouldn't be messing around withmurder, but when Texas Hill Country winemaster Win Castle pits hissons against each other over the inheritance of a 21,000 acre speadincluding the winery where Esbeth works part time, the result ismurder, and Esbeth is in the middle of it with Texas Ranger TillisMacrory and Sheriff Watkins thinking she knows more than she'stelling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

What a Hoot!
This is the first Russ Hall book I've read, and I'm hooked.The story is set in a Texas vineyard owned by Win Castle (the name says it all), who devises competitions between his two sons to decide the heir to his massive spread.The rivalry turns into a murder mystery that eventually involves the detective work of Texas Ranger Tillis Macrory, and Esbeth, a feisty, seventy-two-year-old retired school teacher and amateur investigator.To put it simply, Esbeth is a hoot.The book is definitely a can't-put-downer (and I even learned a little about wine making on the side).The best part, though, is the down-home dialogue that rings of the late, great Texas humorist Molly Ivins, sans politics. (She famously wrote of a Texas politician, "If his I.Q. slips any lower, we'll have to water him twice a day.")Scattered throughout the who dunit are such gems as, "If brains were leather [he] wouldn't have had enough to saddle a flea," and, "A woman's love is like dew.It's apt to fall on a horse turd as a rose."You just can't help but enjoy a book that combines love, rose, and turd in the same quote.

paperbook edition out
Believe it or not, this is now out in paperback through Worldwide Mystery.If you are not familiar with this publisher, it is because it is through Harlequin romance.You can only get it through their website.It is a great book and not so easy to find.

Terrifically Texan
Win Castle has pitted his sons against each other to determine who will take over management of the family's Texas wine business and ranch. Whether it's hunting boar with only a knife or catching sharks, Win pushs them to go further, to take risks. But when his trials are over and he's decided on his successor, he never expects that the winner will be murdered. Nobody much regrets the death of Chaz Castle--the man was a menace to himself and everyone around him. But that only means more suspects for the Texas Rangers and for spunky retired school teacher, winery tour guide, and amateur detective Esbeth Walters. Making things tougher, Win does his best to confuse the case.

Texas Ranger Tillis Macrory has the best conviction record in the Rangers, but he's not too proud to take help where he can get it--and he suspects that Esbeth can help him if she wants. She knows the Castle family, the dynamics within the winery, and the romances that spring up among the Castles and the employees. Even if Esbeth does insist on treating him like a student rather than a law enforcement professional, Tillis sticks it out. Because Esbeth's insights just might be the only thing that will let him cut through the smokescreen that Win is laying and discover the truth.

Author Russ Hall has a terrific ear for the language and manerisms of rural Texas. Expressions like 'meaner than turkey turd beer,' and loonier than the Saturday morning cartoons' are sure to bring a smile--and a nod of recognition. Another nod of recognition goes to Esbeth herself--a carefully drawn character who would be at home anywhere in Texas, sorting things out, protecting her pride, and knowing just a bit more than anyone else. Wine buffs will also enjoy the detailed look at Texas winemaking--and the antics involved in winery tours.

Most of the first half of the novel set the stage for the first murder--but events happen quickly after the Castle family returns from a wedding trip to Belize--with the succession decided and tempers hot. NO MURDER BEFORE ITS TIME is an enjoyable read.

interesting thriller
In The Texas Hill Country ruthless rancher Win Castle feels his mortality after suffering a heart attack.He worries about his legacy as he feels both of his sons are wimps.He decides to host a contest between Chaz and Kyle.Though the siblings are in their thirties, they react differently.Chaz welcomes with glee the chance to inherit the estate while Kyle believes this is stupid.

Chaz wins the competition risking his life with the boar and bringing in the shark.When they land on a deserted isle, Kyle saves the lives of the trio.In Texas, Win informs Chaz and Kyle that they will replace long time loyal managers.However, not long afterward someone murders Chaz followed by his mother.Sheriff Watkins and Ranger Macrory gain the help of septuagenarian Esbeth Walters as they struggle to solve the homicides.

NO MURDER BEFORE ITS TIME is an interesting thriller in which the better person loses the competition because he lacks the zealousness of his sibling.Ironically when they are in trouble Kyle steps to the plate and delivers.The tale ultimately spins into an interesting police procedural amateur sleuth story line that is cleverly designed.Although quite good, that subplot is not quite at the quality level of the Castle championship competition.

Harriet Klausner

What Wonderful Characters!
Wow, what great characters!That pure country Boose and, of course, Esbeth, the reluctant detective, are alive in my head yet.I felt I was on the grounds of a vineyard.I toast this ripping yarn with a glass of the best red wine. ... Read more

Product Description
Esbeth Walters, a retired high school math teacher in her youthful 70s, tells herself that she's never too old to learn something new the hard way when she takes a job as part-time dispatcher at the Sheriff's Department - just a week after the mayor of a small town in the county has been murdered. New to the area, she soon learns that somewhere under the crust of her newly adopted rural Texas county there is a history of feuds, corruption, betrayal, and violence. Wild talk of a lost diamond mine helps to peel back the scab and she begins to wonder if even Texas Ranger Tillis Macrory isn't as tainted as the rest of them. He is overly friendly to attractive deputy Gala and has sat at the card table of gambler Morgan Lane. Esbeth tells him, "I think there's something about this one you needed, something that rattles you to your deeps." Tillis isn't helped when the murdered mayor's son Donnie and his girlfriend, Karyn, find another body - Denny's brother Hugh, who's been missing for forty years. Donnie and Karyn, daughter of Tillis' game warden friend, Logan Rainey, can't seem to leave the mess alone, and their relentless digging unearths a side to the story no one, not even Esbeth, could have expected.

Russ Hall resides in rustic splendor on a lake in the Hill Country of central Texas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Grump to Love
Esbeth Walters is one of the most memorable characters to spring to action on the pages of a mystery, and what a hum-dinger this one is.For someone in her seventies she navigates the speed bumps and hurdles of this case in heroic fashion.She does not brook fools gently, but it is the determined and Machiavellan minds out to thwart her efforts with whom she must contend and do mental combat.A small Texas town with plenty to hide, greed and pride, and not so hidden motives combine for a complex case that is beyond the powers of the local law to unravel.There are plenty of fascinating characters up to no darn good in this compelling yarn, and there's one grump to love.

Fascinating with plenty of twists
When he spots a boat heading out in a storm, Texas Ranger Tillis Macrory calls his friend (and suspicious father) and the two head out to check. A couple of teenage divers discover the long-dead body of another diver--a diver held in a bear-trap under water. All of a sudden, all of Hoel's Dam, Texas's dark secrets begin to emerge. How can this really be a city without a history. What happened to the diver? What happened to the recently deceased mayor? Is there really a diamond mine on Hoel property? What caused the feuds between the Hoel, Granite, and Spurlock families?

Ranger Macrory doesn't feel like he's getting much active help from the sheriff. Instead, the new dispatcher, aging Esbeth Walters, and mysteriously capable Sheriff Deputy Gala, along with the two kids, seem to be the only help Macrory can get. Even his boss is jerking on the reins, trying to make sure Macrory doesn't rock political boats.

Macrory and Esbeth discover that there really were diamonds--but was it a hoax? If so, for what possible purpose? Then there's Old Man Hoel, with his huge ranch and his refusal to see anyone. The Granite family isn't as rich as the Hoels, but it was definitely involved in feuding--and is interested in finding the rumored chest of diamonds. And a mysterious gambler has moved into town and is making arrangements that have to have a meaning. Because a big-time gambler like Morgan Lane wouldn't move into a small-time town like Hoel's Dam just for a weekly poker game with the sheriff.

Author Russ Hall maintains multiple parallel investigative tracks as the kids, Macrory, and Esbeth each tug on the clues to uncover the truth that has already killed so many. Hall's writing is vivid, sometimes almost poetical with Macrory a particularly intriguing character. I was somewhat confused by Hall's reference to Macrory and his friend, game warden Logan, fighting in Korea. As BLACK LIKE BLOOD is set in the present day, this would make Macrory in his seventies--and I was shocked when he described himself as 43. This continuity issue did distract me from the story, which is a shame, because the story is interesting, complicated, and ready to offer one more twist just when you think you've figured everything out.

deep Texas police procedural
While diving in a storm at night, teenage lovers Donnie Spurlock and Karyn Rainey find a corpse at the bottom of the lake.The townsfolk of Kiowa County are already shaken with the recent unsolved murder of Donnie's father, the mayor of Hoel's Dam, Dennie.The corpse found in the lake is Dennie's older brother Hugh, a WW II veteran missing for forty years whose father also went missing.

Texas Ranger Tillis Macrory investigates the homicides linked by blood, but rumors also include lost diamonds.As the two youngsters refuse to back off and continue digging for the truth, new sheriff's dispatcher septuagenarian retired schoolteacher Esbeth Walters mistrusts all law enforcement officials although she thinks Tillis is the cleanest except when he thinks with the wrong head involving the new deputy Gala.

Esbeth, the star of NO MURDER BEFORE ITS TIME, actually gets involved about halfway into this enjoyable police procedural.Three teams of investigations compete.Tillis assisted by his long time friend and Karyn's father game warden Logan make up the most professional inquiries; the sheriff's office is officially in charge; finally the teen lovers provide an amateur sleuth look.Russ hall brings these divergent competing investigations with Esbeth the retired teacher looking down from her big "desk" with a moral light as she trusts none of the players to learn the truth though her reasoning varies.BLACK LIKE BLOOD is a deep Texas who-done-it with a strong cast.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Esbeth Walters, a retired high school math teacher in her youthful 70s, tells herself that she's never too old to learn something new the hard way when she takes a job as part-time dispatcher at the Sheriff's Department - just a week after the mayor of a small town in the county has been murdered. New to the area, she soon learns that somewhere under the crust of her newly adopted rural Texas county there is a history of feuds, corruption, betrayal, and violence. Wild talk of a lost diamond mine helps to peel back the scab and she begins to wonder if even Texas Ranger Tillis Macrory isn't as tainted as the rest of them. He is overly friendly to attractive deputy Gala and has sat at the card table of gambler Morgan Lane. Esbeth tells him, "I think there's something about this one you needed, something that rattles you to your deeps." Tillis isn't helped when the murdered mayor's son Donnie and his girlfriend, Karyn, find another body - Denny's brother Hugh, who's been missing for forty years. Donnie and Karyn, daughter of Tillis' game warden friend, Logan Rainey, can't seem to leave the mess alone, and their relentless digging unearths a side to the story no one, not even Esbeth, could have expected. ... Read more

Product Description
Reluctant amateur detective Esbeth Walters, in her seventies, must face one of her greatest fears when she goes after con artists who are fleecing residents of rest homes. Stir in law enforcers who hope she stumbles, a death that looks anything like the suicide it was ruled, and the presence of a couple of hit men hired out to the mob and you have a stew that makes the tiny Texas town of Fearing a hotter place than usual for her. But she isn’t about to say goodbye just yet . . . or is she? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Such an offbeat character makes reading mysteries down home fun
In a tiny Texas town, Esbeth Walters enjoys her vocation as amateur detective. The local police find her an annoying, old busybody. In this zippy adventure, Esbeth takes on con-men and scams. A particular rest home loses guests a little too predictably, a murder is ruled a suicide, and two mean Vegas hit men give Esbeth visions she'd rather not see.

As a retired schoolteacher, Esbeth has been well-trained in dealing with problems and problem children. Such an offbeat character makes reading mysteries down home fun.

Fun Whodunit!
What an entertaining read!Mr. Hall has created a hoot of a character in retired teacher Esbeth, a feisty little amateur sleuth. Her curiosity doesn't kill the cat, but it does cause a bit of aggravation for some folks along the way. The book is full of quirky characters, plot twists, and wonderful Texas flavor. This is the second Esbeth novel I've read.(I also recommend No Murder Before Its Time.) I look forward to reading Black Like Blood and can only hope that there are more Esbeth adventures to come!

Goodbye, She Lied
I honestly can't give this book ANY stars! But I have to in order to submit this review. I found it extremely boring, poor writing and poor descriptions that just took too long.Very slow.I didn't even finish the book I got so fed up with it.

not your average book
This was another great book by Russ Hall. Its your typical murder/mystery with a very untypical cast. Russ shows his imagination with the star of this story, Esbeth Walters. Some people think that the retired spend their days relaxing and enjoying their golden years. Not Esbeth. With the help of her new found friend she picked up at the rest home, literally, she spends her time wading through Texas sized rain storms dodging rattlers to uncover a murder and con scam.

Russ does an ingenious job of bringing all the characters in this novel to life. From the mafia goons and small time con artists to the regular `ol people who aren't regular at all. Trust me, you wont be disappointed by this book.

fun senior citizenry amateur sleuth
In Fearing, Texas Boose Hargate asks septuagenarian Esbeth Walters to uncover the identity of the con artists who bilked his elderly momma; she was tossed out of the posh retirement home due to a lack of funds.

Adele Kilgore does not need the insurance money nor cares about it, but has a need to know who killed her husband Vance.The police said it was suicide, but he was obviously bound and tortured before driving himself to his death.She turns to Esbeth to uncover the truth.Esbeth receives help from retired forensic pathologist Gardner Burke even as two hitmen search for the same con artists that Esbeth seeks.As everyone converges at Boose's booby trapped isolated cabin, law enforcement remains several steps behind Esbeth and her adversaries.

Although everything ties together too perfectly like a mathematical equation, fans will enjoy the senior citizenry amateur sleuth as Gardner the retired pro assists former math teacher Esbeth on her investigations.Her work on both cases is fun to follow as she finds the sum of the parts (her two cases, a tie in serial killing, and a previous con) equals the whole mystery.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more