Friday, January 31, 2025

Review: The Killing Plains by Sherry Rankin


The Killing Plains by Sherry Rankin takes readers to West Texas and the town of Crescent Bluff. Colly Newland does not want to be back there as the place brings up bad memories. Her late husband, Randy, came from there and his wealthy family controls everything for miles around. While he was physically living with her and their children in Houston, he never escaped the family and their dark secrets.

 

Now retired and a widow, former Houston Detective Colly Newland and her grandson, Satchel, are back on a temporary basis. They are back for two weeks or so and that means Satchel will be in the local school while Colly is working. Once a cop—always a cop.

 

Police Chief Russ Newland, brother of her dead husband Randy, asked her to come home and investigate a cold case of sorts. Many years ago, another brother, Willis, who had special needs, confessed to killing a local boy. Eventually, the governor commuted his sentence because of the family wealth and powerful connections.

 

Willis returned home, and shortly afterwards, another local child died. There were very close links to the first case so suspicion quickly fell on Willis. He soon committed suicide before authorities could clear him or build an actual case based on facts of his guilt. The Texas Rangers, the lead investigating agency, believed Willis was responsible for the killings both times, decades apart, and closed the case.

 

Iris Newland, family matriarch and no pushover, believes Willis never did any of it. She pushed Russ hard to call Colly and convince her to come back and review everything. Iris did not accept it in 98 when Willis went to prison. In here and now of the book set in 2018, she does not believe it now either. E of it. She knows that Willis did none of it. She has pushed Russ hard enough that Russ now has questions about it all based on what the closed investigation turned up.

 

Being back is emotionally hard on Colly, Satchel, Russ, Iris, and pretty much everybody. Beyond Willis, there is plenty of pain and guilt to go around for everybody. For Colly, who needs some sort of healing most of all, it is a chance to deal with the ghosts and the legacy of the past, as well as stop a murderer as things get more and more complicated.

 

Iris just might have been right. If she was right about this, what else was she right about?

 

A complicated atmospheric read, The Killing Plains by Sherry Rankin makes much of its West Texas setting based on the author’s long experience in the area teaching creative writing and literature. That means that the obligatory rattlesnake roundup, a feature of nearly every mystery and crime fiction novel set in West Texas, rears its head here and serves, as expected, to be a pivotal moment. So too does the weather in a variety of forms.

 

The Killing Plains by Sherry Rankin is a solidly mystery read that is well worth your time. This reader hopes that there is a sequel so that we get to see more of Colly, her grandson Satchel, and others in a book to come.


Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3PKy3eN

 

My digital ARC came from the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, through NetGalley with no expectation of a review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

No comments: