Hook Runyon is chasing a serial murderer

The fifth installment of Dr. Sheldon Russell's mystery series featuring Hook Runyon has been released. The Bridge Troll Murders went on sale Nov. 7. Dr. Russell will be in Alva at the Graceful Arts Gallery on Friday, Dec. 1, for a book signing. He's a guest at the gallery for the First Friday Art Walk from 6 to 8 p.m.

In this book, Runyon is once again headquartered in the Waynoka railroad yard. The Great Depression and World War II are past. Many men are still displaced, living as hobos and riding the rails from place to place. Runyon continues to work as a railroad bull, providing security services.

Just as Runyon is contemplating the possibilities of a desk job promotion, a runaway teen is found murdered and mutilated beneath a railroad bridge. The crime is in his territory, so Runyon's desk job is delayed as he's sent to nearby Quinlan to investigate. Set in the Glass Mountains, "blood red bluffs with slabs of crystalline mica," the area is sparsely populated.

The one-armed railroad investigator's life is further complicated when a forensic psychologist from back East is foisted on him. The attractive female, Ria Wolfe, is researching crime-solving techniques for her doctoral thesis. Her rich daddy has some pull with the railroad so Runyon is given no choice in the matter.

The two have opposing views on nearly everything. At a crime scene, Runyon wants to find out what happened. Wolfe is fixated on why it happened.

As the number of murders climbs, Runyon's boss pressures him for a solution before the newspapers start blaming the railroad. Soon the papers have dubbed the culprit as the bridge troll murderer.

About the Author

The written word is similar to music. The right configuration of notes produces a beautiful harmony. Russell's writing hits all the right notes, conveying the flavor of Runyon's surroundings, the unique characteristics of those he meets and the hobo philosophy. The author takes readers on an entertaining journey into the past of northwest Oklahoma and particularly the way railroads shaped the area.

A Publishers Weekly review of "The Bridge Troll Murders" states, "The often witty dialogue and seamless narrative prose carry the reader along to the satisfying resolution."

A former Oklahoma public school English teacher, Russell retired as a professor emeritus from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2000. He currently lives in rural Waynoka, an area rich in railroad history.

Russell published his first novel, "Empire," in 1993. The suspense novel was followed by two historic frontier titles, "The Savage Trail" in 1993 and "Requiem at Dawn" in 2000. "Dreams to Dust: A Tale of the Oklahoma Land Rush" was selected as an Official Oklahoma Centennial Project and won the 2006 Langum Prize for Historical Literature.

Russell introduced the Hook Runyon mystery series in 2009 with "The Yard Dog." "The Insane Train," "Dead Man's Tunnel" and "The Hanging of Samuel Ash" followed. A standalone title, "The Dig," came out in 2013.

The Friday, Dec. 1, book signing in Alva offers the opportunity to meet a Woods County author who is nationally recognized. It's also a chance for the public to encourage Russell to keep writing his entertaining mysteries.