My first published novel was also my first published crime, or detective, novel. It is set in a small county in the Sierra Nevada of California. It's called THREE TO GET READY. Here's how little I knew about the inner workings of the mystery/crime/detective genre back then: When I got a copy of a favorable review of the book, I noticed that the reviewer called it a "procedural," which refers to a crime novel in which the detective/protagonist is a professional. As my protagonist is a sheriff, my novel is a "procedural." I said to my wife, "Honey, I wrote a 'procedural'!"
Anyway, the novel is now available at what I imagine to be a reasonable price--$3.95--on Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/Three-To-Get-Ready-ebook/dp/B007QMHUSA/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1333329396&sr=1-1-catcorr