Pg. 69: Ben Rehder’s "Holy Moly"

The current feature at the Page 69 Test: Ben Rehder’s Holy Moly.

About the book, from the publisher:

When televangelist Peter Boothe decides to build a megachurch on the banks of the Pedernales River, he thinks his biggest problem will be a few unhappy neighbors. However, when backhoe operator Hollis Farley unearths a rare fossil on the construction site---a discovery that could lead to plenty of embarrassing Darwinian publicity---the cover-up begins. Soon, Farley is dead, shot in the back with an arrow, and Game Warden John Marlin is asked to help with the case.

What he and the local deputies find is a suspect list of biblical proportions: Could it have been the bitter geology professor? The private fossil collector with a somewhat unusual fetish? The minister’s wife who takes the Commandments rather lightly? Or the geriatric environmentalist with a mean right hook? Nothing is sacred in Rehder’s most laughable satire yet, a twisted tale of greed, corruption, infidelity, and, yes, paleontology.

Among the early praise for Holy Moly:

"Rehder’s satirical take on greed, faith and foolishness moves at a swift clip, punctuated with dizzy twists and even bittersweet turns, like a good toe-tapping, country and western tune."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Wicked satire. Fast and funny. Ben Rehder is the wittiest writer working today.”
—Mark Gimenez, author of The Abduction

"Ben Rehder in his hilarious Holy Moly places televangelists and the creationism vs. evolution debate under the microsope. [He] takes readers on an adventure into the multimillion-dollar realm of the televangelist on whose land the fossil was found, life in small-town Texas, and the inner workings of police investigation in the latest entry in this Edgar Award-nominated series. Combining sophisticated prose with down-home Texas crime, he leaves no part of Texas life untouched."
—Library Journal

"A tale of lust, power and greed that unravels at breakneck speed...Rehder's characters are always memorable, as are his satirical plots. His style is entertaining and fun to read."
—San Antonio Express-News

"Hook[s] the reader right from the start and keep[s] the action moving from page to page."
—Abilene Reporter-News

Learn more about the author and his work at Ben Rehder's website and his blog.

Ben Rehder’s Blanco County mysteries, Buck Fever, Bone Dry, Flat Crazy, Guilt Trip, and Gun Shy, have made best-of-the-year lists in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews.

The Page 69 Test: Holy Moly.

--Marshal Zeringue