Time Trial

Rating:
Summary: More mysteries in the San Juan Mountains
Review: "~Are you looking for a special gift for the mystery lover in your life? How about something special for someone that seems to have everything? Well, you are in luck."~ twelve plays, five of which won national awards. when a cast of unforgettable characters descends upon Ouray and disrupts his life. There is Henry Whitcomb, a multi-millionaire with a 19th century "hat" which allows him to travel back in time. Is it possible this "hat" will allow him to discover who murdered his wife and son two years ago? What to make of Neil Archer, a college professor and 25 year acquaintance of Dean's?, a brunette in her thirties, a Mrs. Brown somewhere between the age of 50 and 70, a pony-tailed electrical"~ engineer, not to mention Dean's stepfather Fred O'Connor and a 13 year old girl going on 30! Dean described the group as being "...like clowns from a circus funny car..." The journey by this unlikely cast results in a page-turning mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. The dialogue is believable, the characters are, well, characters, and the blending of present day Ouray and vicinity with a century past is unique and mysterious. writers living and writing on the Western slope of Colorado. Time Trial is highly recommended and will make an excellent choice for any reader interested in mysteries set in the San Juan Mountains.

Rating:
Summary: TIME TRIAL IS TERRIFIC
Review: As a mystery author, I had the honor of moderating an author panel at a recent Left Coast Crime convention upon which R.E. Derouin sat. I read TIME TRIAL in preparation for my moderator duties, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. TIME TRIAL takes place in Mr. Derouin's adopted hometown of Ouray Colorado. Detective David Dean has left his home in Pennsylvania to recover from gunshot wounds. He finds trouble follows him to scenic Colorado, and TIME TRIAL is a fast-paced and complex thriller. I recommend it highly, as I do the other works by Ray Derouin, a talented writer, as well as a charming and interesting man.

Rating:
Summary: TIME TRIAL IS TERRIFIC
Review: As a mystery author, I had the honor of moderating an author panel at a recent Left Coast Crime convention upon which R.E. Derouin sat. I read TIME TRIAL in preparation for my moderator duties, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. TIME TRIAL takes place in Mr. Derouin's adopted hometown of Ouray Colorado. Detective David Dean has left his home in Pennsylvania to recover from gunshot wounds. He finds trouble follows him to scenic Colorado, and TIME TRIAL is a fast-paced and complex thriller. I recommend it highly, as I do the other works by Ray Derouin, a talented writer, as well as a charming and interesting man.

Rating:
Summary: Rocky Mountain High
Review: Every month dozens of new mystery novels arrive at my library, but this is the first one I've come across where the setting is the Colorado Rockies and the plot centers around the possibility of time travel. It's an exotic and intriguing combination. While recovering from a bullet wound, Pennsylvania police detective David Dean is house-sitting for a friend in Ouray, but his sabbatical is rudely interrupted by the arrival of multi-millionaire curmudgeon Henry Whitcomb, whose wife and son were murdered in Pennsylvania two years earlier. The killer has never been found, but Whitcomb is in possession of a 19th-century contraption which he believes is allowing him to travel back in time. One of the places he happened to visit was Byrd's Song, Colorado, so if he can verify what he saw there, he's sure he'll also be able to go back and find out for himself who killed his wife and son. First-time novelist Derouin keeps the story rolling along with edgy, hard-boiled dialogue, and even gives us a glimpse of what life must have been like for the folks who lived and worked in these mountains a hundred years ago. Whenever I read a mystery, I try to stay one step ahead of the story, but I have to admit that I had no idea how this one would end. The publisher informs us that Derouin is currently at work on a second book, and I hope he finishes it soon. Now that we've journeyed into the past, I look forward to following Detective David Dean into the future.

Rating:
Summary: There's Gold in These Mountains!
Review: Miners of a century ago found gold and silver in the San Juan Mountains. If you're a mystery fan you'll find gold in "Time Trial".

This is an excellently constructed mystery with captivating plot, intriguing characters and an outcome even the most experienced reader is unlikely to predict.

For those who've visited the San Juans the theme and events will bring back fond memories of these majestic mountains and the mines and miners that brought riches to so many. Whether you've roamed these mountains or not, though, you'll strike it rich when you read this novel.

Derouin's second book, "San Juan Solution" is already out and equally absorbing. This delightful Ouray toy shop owner is hard at work on the third book, "Mountain Ice", due out in the summer of 2001.

Rating:
Summary: There's Gold in These Mountains!
Review: Miners of a century ago found gold and silver in the San Juan Mountains. If you're a mystery fan you'll find gold in "Time Trial".

This is an excellently constructed mystery with captivating plot, intriguing characters and an outcome even the most experienced reader is unlikely to predict.

For those who've visited the San Juans the theme and events will bring back fond memories of these majestic mountains and the mines and miners that brought riches to so many. Whether you've roamed these mountains or not, though, you'll strike it rich when you read this novel.

Derouin's second book, "San Juan Solution" is already out and equally absorbing. This delightful Ouray toy shop owner is hard at work on the third book, "Mountain Ice", due out in the summer of 2001.

Rating:
Summary: There's Gold in These Mountains!
Review: Miners of a century ago found gold and silver in the San Juan Mountains. If you're a mystery fan you'll find gold in "Time Trial".

This is an excellently constructed mystery with captivating plot, intriguing characters and an outcome even the most experienced reader is unlikely to predict.

For those who've visited the San Juans the theme and events will bring back fond memories of these majestic mountains and the mines and miners that brought riches to so many. Whether you've roamed these mountains or not, though, you'll strike it rich when you read this novel.

Derouin's second book, "San Juan Solution" is already out and equally absorbing. This delightful Ouray toy shop owner is hard at work on the third book, "Mountain Ice", due out in the summer of 2001.

Rating:
Summary: You will enjoy this book
Review: Pennsylvania police detective is spending time in present-day Ouray County, Colorado, recovering from a gunshot wound received in the line of duty. One day, his quiet convalescence is shattered by the sudden arrival of five unwanted and eccentric individuals. They seem to have a strange interest in a place called Byrd's Song, a homestead high above the ghost town of Sneffels.

Among Dean's "visitors" are Dorrie Briscoe, a woman who is less-than-picky about her choice of sleeping partners, and whose teenage daughter, Natalie, brings new meaning to the word "precocious". Neil Archer is a history professor and old friend of Dean's with a taste for much younger women, including Natalie. The group is led by an obnoxious millionaire named Henry Whitcomb, whose wife and son were murdered two years earlier.

Whitcomb claims to have found an old, metal, head-mounted device called the Klaxton Turban, which will send the mind of the user back in time. He is convinced that he was in Byrd's Song over 100 years ago, and is obsessed with finding out for sure, one way or the other. A trip to present-day Byrd's Song brings up several clues that tend to support Whitcomb's version of events. Could this be a sort-of time machine, or something more mundane? Dean doesn't believe in the Turban for a second, but. . .

I really enjoyed this book. Derouin does a very good job with the characters and setting of this book. The mystery part was also well done. I'm looking forward to the next David Dean mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Rocky Mountian mystery
Review: The kid with the thirty-eight panicked and shot Parkside, Pennsylvania police officer David Dean. After a three-week recovery in the nearby hospital, the doctors inform David he needs another two months of healing before returning to the force. Marian Anderson, the spouse of one of his officers, recently inherited a Colorado home that needs a house sitter so David volunteered and left for some rest and recuperation in the Rockies.

David's peace and quiet is quickly interrupted by the appearance of friends of his host including the odious, ultra rich Henry Whitcomb and four of his followers. Someone murdered Henry's wife and son two years ago in an unsolved Keystone State crime. Henry believes he possesses a time travel device that will allow him to go back and learn who killed his family members. He persuades David and his stepfather to join him on his trek beyond the nearby ghost town. If David only knew what he is stepping into he probably would have stayed in Pennsylvania.

TIME TRIAL is an excellent "Mountain Time" mystery that will please fans of Rocky Mountain who-done-its. The story line is engaging and filled with surprises and unusual twists. David is a wonderful character and his support cast augments the tale with a tender depth that takes some of the edge away from him. The Colorado Rockies bring perspective to the plot. The mystery works on several levels, but it is David and his personal entourage that will delight fans with R.E. Derouin's debut novel, which demands sequels.