This is another great entry in the John Lee Quarrels Deputy Sheriff, Somerton, Florida seris. This series should be read in order because the characters of this quirky but believable town are so worth knowing and enjoying. Even the dog is a great character. A badge bunny turns out to be a woman who is attracted to men in uniform and so “puts out” for them. In this case, a young woman in her early twenties failed to show up in Court regarding back payments on her truck. The violent enforcer who works for the used car lot roughs up one of her two closest friends and those women disappear. John Lee is assigned to find the woman who failed to show and then realizes the others are missing too. This is unusual for the group. Over the course of the story, we have lots of side trips into additional residents of the town, not the least of which are the car lot owner and his enforcer and some of the police officers and a game warden. This is because, along with some other Deputy Sheriffs, many have information they could contribute to the life of the missing “Badge Bunny.”
The objectification of the missing woman is notable and the men’s viewpoints vary from shame to so what, which offends John Lee despite or because of his reputation for bedding more women than he does or wants to. We meet the three friends’ families, including one sister who needs social services help. As usual, the story is rich with people’s lives. Along the way, the story of John Lee’s relationship with his estranged wife, his potential girlfriends, his issues with the Deputy Sheriff who is a kind of dangerous Barney Fife, the Sheriff who is his father in law and more continues.