Bodine’s Roost

Reuben Battle is a Chicago newsman coming to San Antonio, Texas in the months prior to President Kennedy’s fateful trip, to become the managing editor of the San Antonio Telegram. He walks into a hostile environment, with co-workers wanting to see him fail, an owner’s son that tries to bribe him to turn around and go home, and Texas expectations of a Yankee interloper. But Battle is a fighter and willingly jumps into the ring despite the odds against him. He ends up in the middle of local rivalries and mysteries, doing his own investigations into the community and local corruption.

Bodine’s Roost is a fun tale, filled with larger than life personalities (but what else would you expect from Texas), and Reuben is a great tour guide to 1960s Texas. The story doesn’t dwell on the pending JFK visit, but since the reader is aware of it, it’s like a slowly ticking clock in the background. The insight to the newsroom setup is interesting, but not a primary part of the storyline. While this is the second book in the series, one can easily pick it up here and not feel like they missed anything. And it isn’t supposed to be the last in the series either; Hal Taxel has a good story going.