Time Trial

Time Trial, R. E. Derouin, Western Reflections Inc, 1999

Pennsylvania police detective David Dean is spending time in present day Ouray County, Colorado, recovering from a gunshot wound received in the line of duty. One day, his quiet convalescence is shattered by the sudden arrival of five unwanted and eccentric individuals. They seem to have a strange interest in a place called Byrd's Song, an old homestead high above the ghost town of Sneffels.

Among Dean's "visitors" are Dorrie Briscoe, a woman who is less-than-picky about her choice of sleeping partners, and whose teenage daughter, Natalie, brings new meaning to the word "precocious." Neil Archer is a history professor and old friend of Dean's with a taste for much younger women, like Natalie. The group is led by Henry Whitcomb, an obnoxious millionaire whose wife and son were murdered two years earlier.

Whitcomb claims to have a found a device, worn on the head, called the Klaxton Turban, that will send the mind of the user back in time. He is convinced that he was in Byrd's Song over 100 years ago, and is obsessed with finding out for sure, one way or the other. A trip to present-day Byrd's Song brings up many clues that tend to support Whitcomb's memories of his journey. Could this be a sort-of time machine, or something more mundane? Dean doesn't believe it for a second, but. . .

I really enjoyed this book. Derouin does a very good job with the characters and
descriptions of the Colorado landscape. The mystery part was also well done. I'm looking
forward to the next David Dean story.