Behind the Redwood Door
A Guy Mallon mystery
John M Daniel

Oak Tree Press
Nov 2011 / 9781610090230
Mystery
Amazon

Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer

Guy and Carol Mallon moved to Jefferson City California two years ago. Carol has a book shop with Guy, her unpaid assistant. When the editor of The Jefferson Nickel, Peter Thayer is stabbed to death his employer and lover, Rivers Webster, persuades Guy to take on publishing the paper. He is also persuaded to investigate the murder. He immediately has problems: the newspaper office is vandalized, the computer destroyed, andthere is bitter rivalry between The Jefferson Nickel owned by Webster and The Jefferson Republican owned by Connelly. In his search for Thayer's murderer Guy uncovers power politics in the past, family feuds and marijuana traffic which have affected the newspapers and their owners.

Behind the Redwood Door is a complex mystery set in a colorful, rustic background. Jefferson City is a small town set in the heart of redwood forest country. There is a cast of very colorful characters. Guy is especially noteworthy being a five-foot-one man who does not hesitate to take on the town bully. The action is constant with never a dull moment and a feud reminiscent of the Hatfields and McCoys.