"SAMUEL CRADDOCK MYSTERIES"--Author Terry Shames'
retired, small-town Texas lawman can't stay away from big
trouble
The chief of police of Jarrett Creek,
Texas, doubles as the town drunk. So when Dora Lee Parjeter is murdered, her old
friend and former police chief Samuel Craddock steps in. He discovers that a lot
of people had it in for Dora Lee. The conniving rascals on the farm next door
want her land for nefarious purposes; her estranged daughter could be seeking
vengeance; her grandson wants money for art school; and then there's that
stranger Dora Lee claimed was spying on her. Does Craddock still have what it
takes to find the killer? In this debut novel, the strong, compelling voice of
Samuel Craddock illuminates the grandeur and loneliness of the central Texas
landscape and reveals the human foibles of the residents in a small Texas
town-their pettiness and generosity, their secret vices and true
virtues.
The shocking murder of a wounded
veteran challenges the investigative skills of ex-chief Samuel
Craddock.
Just before the outbreak of the Gulf War, two eighteen-year-old
football stars and best friends from Jarrett Creek, Texas, signed up for the
army. But Woody Patterson was rejected and stayed home to marry the girl they
both loved, while Jack Harbin came back from the war badly damaged. The men
haven't spoken since. Just as they are about to reconcile, Jack is brutally
murdered. With the chief of police out of commission, it's up to trusted
ex-chief Samuel Craddock to investigate. Against the backdrop of small-town
loyalties and betrayals, Craddock discovers dark secrets of the past and present
to solve the mystery of Jack's death.
Jarrett Creek is bankrupt. Gary
Dellmore, heir apparent to the main bank, is dead, apparently murdered. Samuel
Craddock thought he was retired but now he's been asked to return as police
chief. Dellmore supposedly had a roving eye, although his wife says he was never
serious about dallying. Still, Craddock wonders: Did the husbands and fathers of
women he flirted with think he was harmless? What about his current lover, who
insists that Dellmore was going to leave his wife for her?
Craddock discovers that Dellmore had a record of bad business investments. Even worse, he took a kickback from a loan he procured, which ultimately drove the town into bankruptcy. Many people had motive to want Dellmore dead.
Then the investigation turns up another crime. As Craddock digs down to
the root of this mess, many in Jarrett Creek are left wondering what happened to
the innocence of their close-knit community.
From an early
age, Terry Shames wrote stories based on the small town in Texas where her
grandparents lived. Her Samuel Craddock mysteries, A Killing at Cotton Hill and
The Last Death of Jack Harbin are set in a fictional version of the town that
sparked her imagination. Terry lives in Berkeley, CA with her husband, two rowdy
terriers and a mature cat.
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