A Reference to Murder

Charli Rae Warren is back home in Hazel Rock Texas spending her time reading collecting and selling books-at least the ones that don't get eaten first by her father's pet armadillo. Running the family bookstore is a demanding job but solving murders on the side can be flat out dangerous...<P>The Book Barn is more than just a shop it's a part of the community-and Charli is keeping busy with a fundraising auction and the big rodeo event that's come to town. That includes dealing with the Texas-sized egos of some celebrity cowboys including Dalton Hibbs a blond blue-eyed bull rider who gets overly rowdy one night with the local hairdresser . . . and soon afterward disappears into thin air. <P>Dalton's brother also vanished seven years ago-and Charli is thrown about whether Dalton is a villain or a victim. After a close call with an assailant wielding a branding iron (that plays havoc with her hair) and some strange vandalism on her property she's going to have to team up with the sheriff to untangle this mystery before she gets gored . . .