It is deep in the night October 5, 1897 when Sheriff
Sylvester Tilghman is awoken by someone throwing small rocks at his bedroom
window. Doctor Mariner has sent a young boy, Simon Hinkle, over to wake the
sheriff. The good doctor sent for the
sheriff because he is treating a man that has been stabbed. Local resident Ollie
Cramer found the man stabbed out on the road by the new bridge on the south
side of town. A man that the doctor and almost no one else in the small town of
Arahpot, Pennsylvania seems to know.
Not only does the sheriff know the name the man of
the man, he had seen him earlier with Valentine Deibert. Both men seemed to
know each other and had words with Valentine Deibert looking absolutely
terrified at the end of their meeting. When Sheriff Tilghman asked him about
it, Valentine Deibert totally denied everything and claimed to not know the
man.
The same thing the man had claimed when Sheriff Tilghman
tracked him down at Buchner’s livery. The man told the sheriff he didn’t know
Valentine Deibert and was just passing through town. Sheriff Tilghman didn’t believe him then, but
couldn’t really do anything about it.
Now that the man, who called himself Conrad Runkle, is a victim of a
criminal assault Sheriff Tilghman can investigate and ask questions. Since Mr.
Runkle can’t answer any questions as he lost a lot of a blood and is
unconscious, Sheriff Tilghman will start with Valentine Deibert and his family.
While Sheriff Sylvester Tilghman has lots of
questions, he receives very few answers in this complex mystery. His situation
with the Runkle case is almost as confusing and complicated as is the target of
his romantic intentions, Lydia. A story
willed woman who seems to welcome his romantic interest, frequently has him
over to meals and clearly enjoys his company, but for unknown reasons of her
own continues to turn down his marriage proposals. A mystery of its own that
has confounded the good sheriff for some time. One that will have to take a
backseat to solving what happened to Conrad Runkle.
This is an engrossing and complex mystery that
quickly pulls readers into the world of Sheriff Tilghman. A world populated by
fully developed characters in all walks of life that give rise to side stories
and details. A world that is slowly changing before readers eyes as these are
the warning days of the telegraph, gas lights, etc. A world that is full of
history and mystery as well as the occasional funny moment.
Fallen
From Grace by R. R. Lindermuth is a complex
mystery full of twists and turns.
Authentic to its time, the read from start to finish has a deeply
western frontier type feel to it though the setting is Pennsylvania. The result
is a very good read and one that works on all levels.
FALLEN FROM GRACE
J.
R. Lindermuth
Wild
Oak Westerns (Oak Tree Press)
March
2011
ISBN#
978-1-61009-011-7
Paperback
(also available as e-book)
174
Pages
$12.95
Material supplied by the author in exchange for my
objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2012
Posts
2 comments:
Great review! I loved "Fallen From Grace"!
Nice review! Sounds like the book has plenty of "atmosphere" in it as well as a good mystery. Kudos to J.R.!
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