Todd Downing Livres

A former Texas governor is murdered while traveling with family for a questionable wedding, setting off a tense investigation led by Sheriff Peter Bounty. As Bounty navigates a web of enemies and motives, he meticulously examines clues and suspects aboard the train, creating an atmosphere of suspense that intensifies until the final chapter. The story promises a gripping journey of justice and intrigue as Bounty seeks to uncover the truth behind the governor's shocking death.

In this intriguing mystery, Sheriff Peter Bounty investigates the murder of a blood donor, unraveling a web of potential motives involving family grudges, rival donors, and a peculiar doctor ostracized by the community. As the first novel featuring the cat-loving Texas sheriff, the story introduces a cast of characters and clues that challenge Bounty to uncover the truth behind the crime. The narrative promises suspense and an engaging exploration of small-town dynamics.

Set against a backdrop of a digital uprising, this narrative explores the intersection of technology and activism. It delves into how social media and streaming platforms empower individuals to challenge authority and spark change. The story follows a diverse group of characters who harness these tools to mobilize and inspire a movement, illustrating the complexities of their motivations and the impact of their actions. Themes of connectivity, resistance, and the evolving nature of protest are woven throughout, making it a timely commentary on modern activism.

A widowed mother embarks on a journey to escape her overwhelming grief, seeking solace and a fresh start. As she navigates her new life, she encounters challenges that force her to confront her past and redefine her identity. The story explores themes of loss, resilience, and the transformative power of love, highlighting her struggle to rebuild her life while finding hope amidst sorrow. Through her experiences, she discovers strength she never knew she had and the importance of connection in healing.

Set against the backdrop of Mexico's Pedregal, sisters Lucy and Monica Faudree, along with their niece Cornell, find themselves hosting an archaeological group when a mysterious death disrupts their lives. The arrival of ominous letters and the unsettling presence of owls adds to the tension. U.S. Customs agent Hugh Rennert, an amateur detective, steps in to unravel the mystery. Originally published in 1936, this novel combines elements of Mexican culture with suspenseful action and clever sleuthing, inviting readers to solve the enigma before Rennert.

Set against the backdrop of a bullfight in Matamoras, Mexico, the story unfolds with the shocking death of bullfighter Carlos Campos, who is gored by a bull in a plot that reveals a sinister human hand behind the tragedy. Retired U.S. Customs agent Hugh Rennert, now a citrus farmer, suspects a serial killer is targeting victims in the borderlands. Joined by Sheriff Peter Bounty, Rennert embarks on a thrilling investigation to uncover the killer's motives and prevent further murders, challenging readers to solve the mystery alongside him.

U. S. Customs Agent John Payne was hot on the trail of the party he suspected of smuggling Mexican antiquities across the Texas border into the United States. Too hot on the trail to be left alive! On October 27, 1933, Payne was found dead, strangled, in his San Antonio hotel room. Three days after the discovery of Payne's savagely slain body, senior Customs Agent Hugh Rennert is in Mexico City to join the thirteen members of the Inter-American Tours party, late of San Antonio. Rennert is hunting for Payne's calculating and callous killer. The party of American tourists seeing the sights around Mexico City initially seems innocuous enough, yet in actuality Murder travels masked among them, patiently waiting, as the macabre Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) approaches, for the opportunity to strike again. Who will be the next to die by violence, before Hugh Rennert finally cracks the case and corners his quarry? First published in 1933, Murder on Tour is the first in Todd Downing's acclaimed series of seven Hugh Rennert detective novels. Read it and see why the New York Times Book Review proclaimed Murder on Tour a "well fashioned baffler" with "characterization . . . contrived with unusual skill."

A puzzling epidemic of suicides raises alarms among authorities, leading to an investigation that hints at a more sinister force at play. This thrilling mystery unfolds through the eyes of Hugh Rennert, as he navigates dark secrets and hidden motives lurking beneath the surface.

The journey of the Mexico City-bound Pullman seems ill-fated from the outset — what with the engine troubles and the threat of an impending railway strike — but no one aboard expects the terror that will descend upon the luxury train between Laredo and its destination. First a man dies as the vehicle passes through a dark tunnel and then, just as United States Customs Agent Hugh Rennert begins to investigate, the train comes to a screeching halt in the middle of the desert.More deaths follow as night falls, and when it becomes clear that a murderer is on the loose, the stationary cars transform into an isolated hall of horrors. The varied and intriguing cast of passengers begins to panic, but Rennert remains calm and collected, untangling the web of motives in a desperate search for the culprit. Will he be able to unmask the killer before the voyage ends?A suspenseful whodunnit that charts a path through the Mexican wilderness, Vultures in the Sky highlights the best aspects of the Golden Age mystery, mixing classical detective work with a tense, closed-circle setting. The third novel in Todd Downing’s Hugh Rennert series (which can be enjoyed in any order), it shows an undeservedly forgotten author working at the top of his craft.

Set against the backdrop of a rain-soaked Mexican night, a retired U.S. customs officer finds himself trapped in a remote ranch house with a diverse group of strangers, each with their own secrets. As tensions rise and mysterious deaths occur, the survival of all is at stake, including Rennert's. This gripping Golden Age detective novel weaves together vivid characterization and an exotic setting, promising suspense and intrigue as the characters confront their fates. Originally published in 1937, it showcases Todd Downing's mastery of the mystery genre.