Author A. B. Guthrie Jr. (1901–91) was a historian and novelist whose 1949 book The Way West won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. He was also a fantastic storyteller who could write a great murder mystery.

The University of Nebraska Press has recently begun re-releasing his murder mysteries, all of which feature small-town Montana sheriff Chick Charleston and his highly educated sidekick, Jason Beard, in paperback editions.

The most recent of those, Playing Catch-Up was recently reviewed in the Washington Post by Dennis Drabelle who said “for anyone who doesn't know Guthrie's work, Playing Catch-Up is a fine place to start.”.

Playing Catch-Up is a sequel to Guthrie's earlier works, Wild Pitch, The Genuine Article, and No Second Wind, all of which are also available in Bison Books editions.