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
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