The Melon Rind Cafe (Bud Shumway Mystery)

When ex-sheriff and watermelon farmer Bud Shumway learns that his wife, Wilma Jean, wants to sell her cafe and become a backcountry pilot, he senses that his world is about to change, and not necessarily in a good way. But Bud never guesses that he’ll soon be deeply involved in trying to solve the mysterious death of a crusty old Scotsman who, as he was dying, told Bud that his killer was a witch’s tongue. Bud soon becomes an unwilling witness to the frenzy surrounding the hunt for the old man’s hidden treasure, and it soon appears that Sheriff Howie is also getting involved. Set in the deep canyons of southeast Utah, follow along as Bud tries to figure out a cryptic map centered around a tumbleweed, as well as trying to recall the one clue that would lead to the treasure, which only he knows. Add in mysterious sightings of spacemen roasting hot dogs, a strange psychologist interviewing the townspeople, a Bucket of Bolts Overlanders expedition, and Bud’s suspicion that Wilma Jean is about to buy an airplane on the Internet, and there’s never a dull moment, even though all Bud really wants is the peace and quiet of watching his dogs play in the ditch on the farm. This is book #9 in the Bud Shumway Mystery Series.