Dead Broke in Jarett Creek
Terry Shames
Seventh Street Books
Trade Paper, 250 pages, $15.95
ebook $11.99 Kindle Nook

Hard times have come to the small town of Jarrett Creek.  The city coffers are empty, and there’s a dead body behind the American Legion building.

The body belongs the son of a prominent banker who works at his father’s bank.  He was last seen alive in the parking lot after a meeting to discuss what to do about the town being broke.

Now there isn’t any money to pay the police.  The now former chief hasn’t finished drying out, so he’s in no shape to continue with the job, even if there were money to pay him.  The acting chief quits when he learns he won’t be getting paid.

Thus it falls to former police chief Samuel Craddock to fill in.  He agrees to work for a dollar a year.  His first order of business: find who killed Gary Dellmore.  Was it a jealous wife?  A jealous girlfriend?  A business partner?  Someone associated with a failed water park development, the same development that caused the city to go broke?  Or someone else?

There are a great deal of twists and turns in this one.  Shames plays fair with the reader, allowing Craddock to build his case piece by piece.  This is a complex mystery that puzzle fans will enjoy, especially if you’re a detail oriented person.

The author grew up in Texas and while she has moved to another part of the country, she is still very much a Texan.  The book captures the flavor of small towns in the state, including the love of good barbeque and Mexican food.  For the reader who  loves a strong sense of place, this a series for you.

That’s the first thing I love about the series.  The second is that the hero isn’t young.  While I’m not the same age as Samuel Craddock, I can see it from where I’m at.  Craddock isn’t a geezer by any means, but he thinks before he goes in guns blazing.  As I get older, I appreciate that about a character.  I can relate to that.

I’m hoping this series will last a long time.  It’s become a favorite.  (I reviewed the previous installment here.)  I’d like to thank Lisa Michalski and Jill Maxick of Seventh Street Books for the review copy of Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek as well as the review copy of A Killing at Cotton Hill, which I will review soon.

Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek hits shelves today.  Look for it.