Fiction. Western. A lifelong Texan, Bill Crider blends just the right amount of humor and romance in his highly enjoyable mystery novels. The Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery series, including A Romantic Way to Die (S1053), features the exploits of the savvy, small-town sheriff of Blacklin County, Texas. In Red, White & Blue Murder, Rhodes is hard-pressed to keep his cool when a local reporter accuses him, among other elected officials, of corruption. Things get even more serious when a county commissioner is found dead.