We reviewers are expected to base our opinions on what a book DOES, instead of what it DOES NOT DO. After all, we are not editors. We are not approaching a project in process. This is a finished work that we are tasked to read and to judge, given our experience with the genre. Still. A familiar mantra in the writing world is: "Show, don't tell." Which means: Let the characters and the story reveal the necessary details in good time, when it makes sense to do so. Don't dump them all on the reader in one chunk, without context. After all, when we meet someone in real life, we don't instantly acquire their entire history, in one succinct package. Evidently co-authors Judilee Butler and GaGa Gabardi didn't get this memo before writing The Last Hurrah.

Phoebe Korneal is the deputy sheriff of Green County, Colorado, and is based in the mining town of Oresville. When the story opens, the office has just gotten word that a local miner nicknamed Old Al has died outside of the abandoned Sunshine Mine. His friend and fellow independent miner Augusta found him. Phoebe rides along with Sheriff Joe Jackson through rugged terrain to reach the mountain site. Joe leaves the main part of the investigation up to her. Phoebe does her best to pay attention to every detail. Did Old Al die of natural causes, like a heart attack? Or was something else afoot here? Al didn't have any of his prospecting tools with him. His mule Rose was nowhere in sight. Augusta can't offer many clues or explanations, other than to wonder about the whereabouts of Al's summer apprentice, a young kid named Hank. Local reporter Carrie Jean O'Brien has also ridden up to the scene and is already getting in the way of Phoebe's site inspection. Can Phoebe figure everything out, with the help of the coroner, other local authorities, and just plain logic?

The actions of this first day -- from the discovery of the body, to driving to the site, to having conversations with key people, to calling in the coroner, to eventually getting Al off the mountain, to following-up with folks in town, etc. -- take up the first 174 pages of this 281-page book. Why? Because the authors also insert the backstories of each character who shows up. These diversions from Phoebe's investigation take up several pages for each character. They also aim the readers' attention away from Old Al and his misfortune, as well as from Phoebe's work. Do we need to hear about the hometowns, childhoods and marital histories of these other folks, right here and now? No. Will we remember anything from these intrusive info-dumps? Probably not. And by the end of this first day, Phoebe's office already gets preliminary autopsy results. On the same day that Al is found, high on a remote mountainside. Really? Well, this is fiction, after all.

The authors have also chosen to tell the tale with the third-person omniscient viewpoint. As a result, the narrative follows all of those other characters as they appear. And these folks have additional thoughts about what's going on. We "hear" them. The focus does not remain on Phoebe, who is nevertheless supposed to be the main character. Maybe the series should instead be called "The Oresville Mysteries," if the rest of the townspeople are just as important and are just as involved in the story as Phoebe Korneal is. Just a suggestion. I think most of the mysteries that I read are written in third-person limited, so that we witness the events as only the main character sees them.

The last 30 pages seem to be rushed into a wrap-up for a memorial for Old AI. The community obviously cares about their fallen brother, but we don't see much emotion shown in person. Characters quickly go through the motions of what they must do. Not as many conversations take place on the pages anymore. We're not as privy to the thoughts of the characters as much as before. Paragraphs are shorter. We are left with a reasonable explanation for the tragedy. Yet again, the writing here is more Tell than Show.

The Last Hurrah is followed by three more episodes in the series. If you like books set in Colorado, or in mining communities, you might want to seek them out. If you like to follow female officers on the job, you may be interested in what Phoebe Korneal faces each day. I will not be making these books a high priority for myself. I believe that I have had enough of Oresville.