Fox Valley Murders, The-Jack Vance mystery novel, book review

Fox Valley Murders, The-Jack Vance mystery novel

AKA: Sometimes referred to as Joe Bain 1

The Fox Valley Murders is a mystery novel that was written in 1964 and published in 1966 under the name John Holbrook Vance.  This is the real name of the famous writer Jack Vance.  It is available in a very nice Spatterlight paperback and as a Subterranean Press hardcover titled Desperate Days: Selected Mysteries Volume Two.  (Along with The Pleasant Grove Murders and The Dark Ocean.)

The Fox Valley Murders introduces the character, Joe Bain, the acting sheriff in the fictional county of San Rodrigo "a few hours drive south east of San Francisco."  Here almost everybody knows each other, nothing is secret for very long and a person's history is readily recalled.  Joe, for example, was not the most well behaved teenager when he grew up in the area so many people are surprised that he has become the acting sheriff. 

Joe is the acting sheriff because the elected one died a few days ago.  While he would never have run against the incumbent sheriff, Joe now decides to run for the position.  In the upcoming election he will be opposed by a former San Francisco attorney, Lee Gervase, who is young, progressive, energetic, determined, slick, and very ambitious and wants to bring major changes to the county including replacing the historic courthouse with a new modern building.  Joe loves the old courthouse and does not advocate growth or modernization.  Instead he represents "honest, efficient law enforcement without fear of favoritism."  The local newspaper, the Chamber of Commerce and several well to do citizens want more economic growth and change so they strongly support the opposing candidate Gervase.  The local newspaper reporter, Griselda, will not even write anything positive about Joe in the paper because he supports Gervase.  Griselda, along with Bain’s daughter and mother, appear again as characters in the second and final Joe Bain mystery, The Pleasant Grove Murders.

Many of the residents vividly recall the murder of a thirteen year old local girl that happened sixteen years ago.  A local man, Ausley Wyett, was convicted and sent to prison.  News has been released that Wyett has just been paroled from San Quentin after having served sixteen years.  Even though Wyett claims he was falsely convicted, many people in town are unhappy or even outraged that he is returning to the area.

Locals become even more upset when Wyett arrives home and immediately sends letters to five local men who testified against him at his trial.  Although the five identical letters are not threatening, they do mention how "dreadful" prison was and ask each recipient, "How do you plan to make this up to me?"  When one of these men die in what appears to be an accident, Wyett is suspected of possibly being involved with his death.  When a second of the five former witnesses subsequently dies in an unusual accident, local citizens become even more alarmed.  They pressure Joe, as acting sheriff, to do something.

Joe, in the meantime, has been busy investigating why somebody put water in Bus Hacker's gas tank forcing him to walk to the post office to pick up some important mail.  Then a local house burns down in what looks like arson and a large group of local boys get into a fight with another group of boys who live in a strict religious commune called Nazareth.  In addition, the office manager at the police station, Mrs. Rostvolt, is resistant to Joe's new leadership, listens in on his phone conversations, tries to make decisions that the sheriff should be making and appears to be taking bribes from a local restaurant that supplies meals for the prisoners.  He even finds out that she has been taking kick backs from the sponsors of local cockfights.  Everyone knows, after all, that the previous sheriff encouraged these sort of things by accepting money and favors from others. 

Vance creates a fascinating, old fashioned portrait of a small rural community with its down to earth, homespun characters.  (He provided an even more detailed portrait of such people in his subsequent Joe Bain book, The Pleasant Grove Murders.)  The novel is full of quaint interactions such as when Joe is offered a beer while on duty.  He eventually agrees to have a drink after his friends in the bar joke with him that, "You might get the church vote by staying sober, but you lose the confidence of the drunks."  The narrative and characters are down to earth and often humorous and there is an intricate plot along with vivid descriptions of an atmospheric time and place. 

As Joe investigates the murders he also does his best not to lose too many votes by upsetting citizens.  His opponent offered to let Joe maintain his job if he did not run for sheriff but Joe decided to run anyhow.  If he loses the election Gervase has indicated he would fire Joe.  So won’t just lose a promotion if he is not elected sheriff.  He will also become unemployed.

This is the third time I have carefully read this novel and, as with many Vance writings, I found that I liked it even better after rereading it.  The plot is improbable and the conclusion seems rushed, but the characters are interesting and Vance's charm is there.  The Fox Valley Murders is recommended to Jack Vance fans, mystery readers and those who appreciate skillful writing, with humor, an intriguing plot and a picturesque, rural, folksy, small town setting in a bygone era. I had initially rated it a 3 "liked it" after the first reading but am now rating it a 4 "really liked it."