Murder in Texas by Ada Emma Lingo (Houghton Mifflin, 1935; Coachwhip, 2016) is another of those books that stands alone as its creator’s known output. Ada Lingo started as a journalist writing up social events for newspapers and then earned a medical degree which kept her too busy to pursue a sideline as a novelist. The Coachwhip paperback version of this book has an introduction with background by historian Curtis Evans.

Joan Shields is the society reporter for the Daily News in the small west Texas town of Fordman. The town is named for the resident oil millionaire John Fordman, who also owns the newspaper. The Daily News office is hard at work in early July, turning out the next day’s sheet while holding space for news of Fordman’s latest oil strike, which was expected that day. Instead, they filled the page with a description of Fordman’s murder. While all eyes were focused on the geyser of oil shooting up from the earth, someone shot Fordman as he sat in his car.

The police understandably have no experience with homicide cases and few have confidence in them. Joan convinces Fordman’s daughter and only child to hire a private investigator friend of hers. After he arrives, Joan juggles her work with helping him collect information. They use her younger brother to run errands, and he ends up playing a major role in the resolution of the case.

The small town and its various residents are captured perfectly. Clearly Lingo knew all about them. Main characters are noteworthy, the inside view of newspaper production compelling, and the end of the book is really original. The middle though is a lot of running around without much to show for it. On two separate occasions Joan had the opportunity to review the contents of bookcases, providing insight into contemporary reading tastes. (Mystery authors included Mignon Eberhart, Francis Iles, Leslie Ford, and Kay Cleaver Strahan.) Lingo was kind enough to include a map of the crime scene, always a plus.

For fans of strong regional settings and readers who need a break from traditional village conundrums or amateur detective mysteries.