Bohannon's Book (Penguin crime fiction)

Rating:
Summary: The reluctant detective.
Review: Hack Bohannon quit his job as deputy sheriff after 14 years on the force. Now he makes ends meet by boarding other people's horses on his ranch. But whenever there's a mystery to be solved Hack reluctantly pulls out his private investigator's license and returns to police work.
Bohannon's Book consists of 5 previously published mysteries, all of which feature Hack Bohannon. Rugged, taciturn and all business, Bohannon posesses deductive skills that are almost Holmesian in depth. All of the stories take place in the vicinity of Hack's ranch on California's central coast. Author Joseph Hansen consistently uses a very descriptive brand of prose which quite effectively lends realism to the people and places he writes about. And Hack Bohannon is a literary creation with considerable appeal.
Of the stories in this book, the first one, Tango Bear, was my least favorite. The ending spoiled it for me because it did not fit with the rest of the narrative. The other 4 stories were significantly more satisfying. I found Snipe Hunt, Witch's Broom, Merely Players and Death of an Otter to be well crafted, engaging whodunits with narratives that unfold against a very believeable backdrop.