The Crack in the Lens Audiobook By Steve Hockensmith cover art

The Crack in the Lens

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Crack in the Lens

By: Steve Hockensmith
Narrated by: William Dufris
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.47

Buy for $15.47

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel
In 1893, Otto "Big Red" Amlingmeyer and his brother, Gustav "Old Red," find themselves in a situation that they never expected: they have a bit of money and time to do something other than scramble. It's enough to confound even that most unconfoundable of men, their mutual inspiration, Sherlock Holmes.

So Old Red decides that it's time for the two of them to head off to the Texas hill country, to San Marcos, and deal with the greatest tragedy of Old Red's life. Five years ago, when Old Red was a cowpoke in San Marcos, he had a sweetheart---a fallen woman at the local house of ill repute. They had made plans, but before they made their big move, his fiancee was murdered and the case was swept under the rug by the local authorities. Now Old Red is determined to find out what really happened and to finally find a measure of justice for his beloved.

But Big Red and Old Red find themselves facing a wall of silence and in some of the worst situations of their lives: ensnared in a riot at the local cathouse, on the wrong end of a lynching party, and, perhaps worst of all, having to do the one thing you never want to do in the state of Texas: steal horses.

©2009 Steve Hockensmith (P)2009 Tantor Genre Fiction Historical Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Westerns Fiction Money

Editorial reviews

Brothers Otto and Gustav Amlingmeyer are the Holmes and Watson of the American West. On their fourth, case they investigate a series of murders involving prostitutes, one of whom was Gustav's truelove. Bill Dufris's "aw-shucks" narration somewhat blunts the gory reality of the story's Jack-the-Ripper-style killings, but his performance is in line with the setting and characters. Of course, having narrated the other three Holmes on the Range adventures, he's had lots of practice. Both men's and women's voices have an appropriate rough edge, and the action moves right along. It's difficult to take these sagebrush Sherlocks too seriously; one wonders what Conan Doyle would think.

Critic reviews

"The personal stake Old Red has in catching the murderer adds an emotional dimension to the puzzle, which Edgar-finalist Hockensmith nicely leavens with witty prose and cliffhanging chapter endings." ( Publishers Weekly)
All stars
Most relevant  
Steve Hockensmith has three of these novels; they are delightful stories that are as humerous as they are intriguing. But the narration makes them all the more enjoyable. If you like some humor mixed in with your mystery and if you have a liking for the wild west, and if you think an illiterate cowboy with an affection for Sherlock Holmes is worth your time, you will love this book.

A great series and a great narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is the fourth book in the series and each one gets better. When I listened to the first book int the series, I loved the story but only liked the narrator. Four books later, I love it all. A frequent complaint about the other books is the occasional curse word. Here, Hockensmith finds a hilarous way to let the curse words fly without uttering a single vulgarity. Funny, compelling and filled with interesting characters and a well developed setting. My only warning is that if you like your mysteries very polite and clean, this series isn't that. It's not at all super gory or grusome but there is a little coarsness. Just a little.

Keeps getting better

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved this series to date, but it's run out of gas. Felt very tired hard to finish

Series has run its course

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.