“’I know that ain’t what the Bible says,
but I do,’ she said. ‘He’s always got horrible music playing, he don’t got no
housekeepin’ skills, and he’s mean as a constipated goat.’” (Page 145, Another Man’s Ground)
While that
description fit more than a few of our neighbors at the old apartment complex
over the years, the same could also be said of several different characters in Another
Man’s Ground by Claire Booth. Second in the Sheriff Hank Worth Mystery
Series,
the events of The Branson Beauty are still on everyone’s mind. Those events
had a definite impact on the local community and could easily affect the
upcoming election for sheriff. Just doing the job isn’t good enough, especially
when you have a slick and well-funded opponent. An opponent who is going to take advantage of
everything that happens as a result of the current investigation.
Vern Miles is upset
as well as he should be because somebody is messing with his land and his
livelihood. A person or persons unknown has been coming onto his land and
stripping the bark off his trees. His particular type of elm tree has a
substance in the bark that get processed and sold in stores as a supplement to
treat various conditions. Not has somebody trespassed on his land and stolen
bark from trees in such large quantities that the trees will die, that damage
also destroys his income.
Unfortunately, those
damaged and dying trees are just the start of the problem in the woods for
Branson, Missouri Sheriff Hank Worth. There are undocumented workers running
around the woods as well. The same woods are also hiding a couple of bodies and
it least one potential murder suspect. All those problems in the woods, past
events, and a couple of other things, are messing with his chances of being elected
Sheriff in the upcoming election.
Dealing with it all
is going to be difficult to say the least.
The second in the
series that started with The
Branson Beauty is a very good read. Another Man’s Ground seamlessly
picks up the action after several months after the first book and keeps things
rolling right along to a very satisfying conclusion. All the characters are
back along with some new folks, a complex mystery, and the author’s clear
appreciation for the area. Another Man’s Ground is a very good read well worth your
time.
For a more detailed review of this very
good book, check out Lesa Holstine’s review.
Another Man’s Ground
Claire Booth
Minotaur Books (St. Martins Publishing
Group)
July 2017
ISBN# 978-1-250-08441-5
Hardback (eBook format available)
320 Pages
$25.99
Material supplied by the good folks of
the Dallas Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018
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