Playing Catch-Up

183 pp; lit. Brown front and back panels, tan cloth spine with red imprint. Clean dust jacket. "This time Jason Beard is helping Sheriff Chick Charleston solve the murder of a call-girl, and his first step involves him in the unwelcome necessity of interviewing the local madam, whose view of the town is extensive and unusual. It also involves him with various drifters and cranks, as well as the uncooperative police of the neighboring oil town of Overthrust. Set against a broad Western landscape—from the raw and cheerful locales of the Bar Star and The Gusher to the grand, wide-open spaces—Guthrie's touch is unerring."Houghton Mifflin, 1985. First Edition. $55.