The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson by Terry Shames

September 30, 2024

Earlier this year, when Terry Shames launched her Jessie Madison series set in the Bahamas, I worried that she was leaving Samuel Craddock behind. Not to worry. She recently signed a contract to continue both series. And, with The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson, she...

The Marshal and the Mystical Mountain by C.M. Wendelboe

April 08, 2020

A month ago, I reviewed a frontier mystery set during the 1920s in Rocky Mountain National Park.  C.M. Wendelboe’s The Marshal and the Mystical Mountain is a compelling, violent story for all of us who love the works of Craig Johnson and Margaret Cole....

The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake by Terry Shames

January 11, 2016

The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake marks the return of one of the most engaging lawmen in Texas, Terry Shames’ police chief, Samuel Craddock. The unpretentious, old-fashioned man knows just how to investigate a case in Jarrett Creek, but discovers that even an...

A Thousand Falling Crows by Larry D. Sweazy

January 09, 2016

Larry D. Sweazy’s See Also Murder was one of my favorite books of 2015. Now, he returns with a story that’s even grittier, an atmospheric, richly detailed book out of the violent Depression years. A Thousand Falling Crows features lonely, lost...