Publication Day Review: Hidden Currents: A Sheriff Hank Worth Novel by Claire Booth

 

Branson County Sheriff Hank Worth is always trying to help people. He’s been trying to help Gursey Rugg, a 23-year-old meth addict, and very well known to all for his very low-level shoplifting. As Hidden Currents: A Sheriff Hank Worth Mystery by Claire Booth begins, he has been arrested yet again.

 

But this time he stole enough in one take to rise to a felony level. He swiped 14 hand tied feather lures from the local Reel Life Outfitters store. A two-store chain with stores on the opposite ends of the Lake Taneycomo. The chain is now managed by the new owner, Gene Willard, who seems very much determined to press charges.

 

The same Gene Willard who has no chance to pursue charges, or change his mind, and he is soon very much dead in one of his stores. That means Sheriff Hank Worth, Deputy Sheila Turley, and the others have to figure out who did it and why. The fact that Gene Willard was going through a contested divorce just means the suspect pool is even bigger.

 

While that case is the main storyline, quite a lot is going on in secondary storylines. Among the various threads is the fact that the attackers of Chief Deputy Sheila Turley are finally about to stand trial. It’s been a long time coming, thanks to the pandemic and other issues. Just seating a jury is going to be hard enough in the small community where everybody knows you and your business. Having to deal with being a witness in a trial is bad enough, but trying to investigate a murder at the same time means she and everyone in the department will have a lot on their plate

 

The latest installment in a great series that began with The Branson Beauty is another good one. Much is going on in Hidden Currents: A Sheriff Hank Worth Mystery and things remain complicated and evolving. This is a series that must be read in order as events happen, create consequential ripple effects just like in real life, and people change. These characters have been through a lot in these books, so  I very much recommend reading them in order.

 

I also encourage you to read the “acknowledgments” section at the end of the book as the author goes into some background detail on location and other issues.

I also encourage you to read Lesa Holstine's review here. And, if you are not already paying attention to her site, slap yourself with a wet noodle, and get onboard. 

 

Strongly recommended as is the entire series.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4d5CLzR

 

The read will also be added to the Kindle Unlimited program on publication day.

 

 

I picked this up through NetGalley by way of the publisher, Severn House, which has me on their preapproved reviewer list. A fact I am very grateful for as the ability to instantly download and get reading, as I did here, is a wonderful thing. There was no expectation of a review.  

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Publication Day Review: River Deep: A Bitterfrost Thriller by Bryan Gruley

River Deep: A Bitterfrost Thriller by Bryan Gruley takes readers back to the town of Bitterfrost on the shore of Lake Michigan. Like the first book of the series, Bitterfrost, this new book is also marketed as a “thriller.” This reader would label it a “mystery.” Regardless of label, this second book in the series lives up to the very good first read in every aspect.

 

Before going further, I am being very careful not to reveal background details here that tie into that first book. Like in his other series, this second book should be read after reading the first book. Some storylines continue,  characters develop, things have happened because of the first book, etc. Read in order.

 

There are repercussions and unfinished business from the first book as River Deep begins. The glory of hockey is back in this read as is another major trial. Devyn Payne has returned full time, at least for now, to her roots. A former criminal defense lawyer, she has her reasons for coming home, and going to work as a prosecutor. It was supposed to make her life easier.

 

So much for that idea. Tragedy has again struck. She is standing on a dark and cold riverbank watching late one night as a crane pulls a SUV from the frigid river waters. The river, the Jako, leads into Lake Michigan. It has taken two lives this night—twin boys that will not see their first birthday.

 

That cold river water barely released the parents back to dry ground. Catriona Delaney is on a medical helicopter headed to Grand Rapids. The father, Sammy Hardt, fared better in the crash into the river, and is in decent shape, all things considered. He apparently got Catriona out. Unfortunately, he was unable to save the kids.

 

As the police begin the crash investigation, the case is led by Detective Garth Klimmeck. A year older and that much closer to retirement, he is eyeballing the increasing need for a hip replacement, and other things. Local politics played a major role in the case last year. He is fully aware that with the people involved,  local politics will definitely play a role in this situation, no matter what he uncovers.

 

It certainly does, but politics and familial history is not even half of it. Much is going on here. Before long, there is a full-scale murder trial with twist after twist. Much like real life, this fictional world is full of chaos, grief, and unpredictability.

 

As previously noted, the events of the first book, Bitterfrost, play a significant role in this read. I strongly recommend reading this very good series in order. The author continues to develop a complicated world which gives this reader hope that the series will continue. A mighty good read and very much well worth your time, as are his other books.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4dRFnCw

 

My digital ARC reading copy came from the publisher, Severn House, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review. 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Review: Beach Blonde Betrayal: A Florida Beach Mystery by Elaine Viets

This book comes out this Tuesday….

 

Having previously read the first book of this series, Sex and Death on the Beach, I happily requested Beach Blonde Betrayal when it appeared on NetGalley. As the publisher, Severn House, has had me preapproved for anything in their vast catalog for years now, I was quickly able to download the book and start reading. There is less sex on the beach, but a lot more murder in this installment of The Florida Beach Mysteries.

 

Nora McCarthy, a native Floridian, owns and operates, “The Florodora” in Peerless Point. The classic apartment building sits on the beach approximately at the midpoint between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida. Her tenants, beyond her boyfriend Dean who has law enforcement experience and is now in exile in Witness Protection for very good reason, are people who honor the idea of the Florida Man/Woman you see in news reports. But, they do it in good ways by being eccentric, colorful, trusting of others, and bastions of the South Florida culture and style. They are all fun, eccentric, and play a major role in keeping the building alive and vibrant.

 

Because of the way they are, they could be a bit more susceptible to romance scams than the average person. It is also way easier for the police, in a separate storyline, to suspect one of their own as the culprit behind a string of murders of blonde women found dead on the beach. Both are in play in this complicated mystery that also features a separate murder just outside the four story Florodora apartment building as well.

 

Fortunately, Norah has a knack for investigation and Dean is present to assist with his law enforcement investigative skills. As they deal with new issues in their personal relationship and hurt feelings, they unite to help their fellow friends in the building. A building where the people think of themselves as family and have their own interrelationship issues. Things get complicated and don’t always work out as planned, but like life itself, this is how it plays out.

 

The result is an entertaining mystery full of a cast of characters and constant twists and turns. While it is always preferable to have read the first book of a series first, one could easily read Beach Blonde Betrayal: A Florida Beach Mystery first as spoilers for the previous book are minimal. It is also a solidly good cozy style mystery and a lot of fun.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4oveckC

 

 

As previously noted, my digital ARC came from the publisher, Severn House, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: Deadly Force by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Deadly Force by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Publication Day Review: Reverse: A Posadas County Mystery by Steven F. Havill

 

Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is in her patrol unit and driving on a quiet evening in Posadas County, New Mexico, when she hears the relaxed voice of Sergeant Thomas Pasquale calling in a license platy check to the new dispatcher on duty. It is November as Reverse: A Posadas County Mystery by Steven F. Havill begins, and the weather has been unseasonably warm. The license plate soon comes back to a totally different car than the one in the parking lot of NightZone.  The currently unoccupied car has been hidden on the far end of a parking lot and sandwiched between an older station wagon and a large pickup truck. After a short cellphone discussion with Sergeant Pasquale, she decides to run code and respond as his backup.

 

She never makes it.

 

As her brilliantly lit departmental Charger rockets down the highway, she collides with a large elk and its baby. The crash is devastating to her, the car, and the elk. Minutes later, Sheriff Jackie Taber, who was a few miles behind her on the same road as she too was already headed to NightZone, is on scene and starts a complicated rescue response.

 

In the aftermath, Estelle is more determined to retire at the end of the year, as scheduled. She soon learns that she is not the only one about to leave the department. Change is coming, the torch is being passed, and those left in the small department, as well as everyone else, are going to have to deal with a seismic shift in personnel.

 

A small department that is also dealing with an ongoing staff shortage, political and budget issues, and crime problems. That also includes the vexing problem of what happened to a 1967 Corvette that was being raffled off to pay for new and much needed church roofs. The car was swiped from the service area of the local dealership. That never should have happened. Where is the car? Who took it? Just two of the many questions that need to be answered as the raffle draws closer by the hour.

 

Not to mention determining what happened to the local teen found near death by the old and very flooded local quarry? It has been abandoned for years. Nobody should have been out there. From the state of the kid, he clearly was there, at some point.

 

What follows is another complicated read featuring characters that are old friends at this point. Characters that are never static, but just like real people in our lives, evolve and change over time. As a longtime reader and a big-time fan of the series, it is fun to again visit with characters that feel like friends and family. To visit again an area of New Mexico that is clearly loved by Mr. Havill. None of us are getting any younger and getting to once again go back to Posadas County is a real treat and much appreciated.

 

The latest installment of a wonderful series, Reverse: A Posadas County Mystery Series, is strongly recommended. As is the series.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4rGFu81

 

My digital ARC came from the publisher, Severn House, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Fire Must Burn by Allison Montclair

  

My Christmas Eve read was an early copy of Fire Must Burn, the eighth book in the Sparks and Bainbridge series by Allison Montclair, which I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to read via NetGalley. The latest in this excellent historical mystery series is due to be released on 6 January 2026 by Severn House. Severn House has been a reliable source of good mysteries and thrillers for more than 40 years. I was concerned when I saw that the firm had been acquired recently by Joffe Books, since consolidation of publishing houses often means authors lose their contracts and readers lose favorite series. However, Joffe also has a considerable interest in crime fiction, I know because I subscribe to their newsletter, and my fingers are crossed that the author list at Severn House remains unchanged. Or expands. Expansion would be good, too.

Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge continue on their quest to match the lovelorn members of the post-war London populace via their marriage bureau, The Right Sort. On the personal front, Gwen is settled into her own house away from her demanding in-laws and enjoying her flourishing relationship with Iris’s Cambridge friend Salvatore Danielli, or Sally, as everyone calls him. It is lovely to see her relaxed and enjoying life. Iris on the other hand is still grieving the loss of her fiancé and is drinking far more than she should.

Her life is further complicated when her manager from her wartime British Intelligence service contacts her and tells her that one of her Cambridge friends is suspected of being a Russian agent. The Brigadier wants Iris to find a way to coax her friend, recently returned from China, into subscribing to the services of The Right Sort and to match him with a British agent who can dig more deeply.

Neither Iris nor Gwen appreciate having their service exploited in this way but see no way of avoiding it. Iris has not seen Tony Danforth for nearly 10 years but she remembers him with affection and can’t believe that he would betray his country. She manages to visit a bookstore at the same time he does, he loves books too, and her assignment proceeds as expected. Until Tony’s apartment is bombed and he is severely burned. The questions of why and how become the next investigation of the intrepid Sparks and Bainbridge.

Flashbacks to the mid-1930s and Iris’s days at Cambridge describe her history with Danforth, which help explain her feelings about Danforth now. There are some informative bits about the status of women at Cambridge. Despite allowing women to study at the university, Cambridge did not award full degrees to women until 1948, about the time of this story.

As usual, Gwen and Iris combine their disparate skills and jointly work through the criminal problem as well as answer a couple of questions that arise along the way. Their developing friendship is a highlight of these books.

The societal inequities to which women were subjected during the first half of the 20^th century (and sometimes still are) is an ongoing theme for Montclair. Unfortunately she has no shortage of material. This title highlights some of those injustices while spinning a very good mystery with some fine plot twists. Starred review from Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly calls the book “a treat.”  Recommended!

 

·         Publisher: ‎Severn House

·         Publication date: ‎January 6, 2026

·         Edition: ‎Main

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print length: ‎256 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎144831593X

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1448315932

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link:  https://amzn.to/4pVGpRe  

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Lesa's Book Critiques: Dark Humor by Matt Goldman

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Dark Humor by Matt Goldman

In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange

In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange: The Goodreads Choice Awards winners were announced today, including those in the Mystery and Thriller category. The top vote-getter for 2025...

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Curious Poisoning of Jewel Barnes by Terry Shames

 Lesa's Book Critiques: The Curious Poisoning of Jewel Barnes by Terry Shames

Review: The Curious Poisoning of Jewel Barnes: A Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames

This comes out Tuesday...

It is always a great pleasure when another book in the long running Samuel Craddock Mystery series by Terry Shames comes out. The latest, The Curious Poisoning of Jewel Barnes, is another solidly good one.

 

As the book begins, it is the fall of Craddock’s discontent. He thought he was in love and they had a future together. But, Wendy Gleason is gone as she has reconnected with her high school love who has come back into her life. It has been a bit of a whirlwind these last few weeks for them and they are about to be married. A break up is hard enough, but with Jarret Creek so small, everybody for miles around knows every excruciating detail.

 

Loretta has stopped by this morning, as she almost always does, with some food and news. This time the news is a bit strange as one of two twin sisters thinks the other is trying to kill her. Lily and Jewel, part of the Barnes family, have lived together their entire lives. They live a couple of blocks over from the family home. Much of their lives, they have bickered, but nothing too serious and nothing ever got out of hand to the point that anyone else, in the family or outside, had to really intervene.

 

That may have changed in the here and now of mid-November. Loretta says she has heard from Hannah, another sister, there is some sort of serious feud going on. Lily is sure her twin sister is trying to poison her and, to hear Loretta tell it, the fear that Lily has is very real.

 

Chief Samuel Craddock does not think much of it as everybody in that family has a temper and there is always some sort of petty disagreement going on. Some families are just like that. Not only that, but the twins are in their mid-forties so Craddock believes they should both have some sense. Beyond that, why would one try to kill the other one now?

 

Loretta does not know, but she is clearly concerned as is Hannah who told her some of the details. So, he agrees to see each of the twins and check in, but that takes awhile as various other problems take precedence. That includes the possibility of an illegal dumpsite just outside the limits of his jurisdiction. A site that, it soon becomes clear, nobody wants to talk about or have it investigated.

 

Soon, Jewel is dead from an apparent poisoning. Lily is the main suspect. She is also devastated by the death of her twin sister. That death also has rocked Hannah and the entire family. A death that has to be investigated by Craddock and others as either it was an accident or deliberate.

 

If that wasn’t enough, Wendy’s kids who have always thought the world of Craddock are concerned about the return of the old flame and his criminal history. It doesn’t take long for Craddock to realize they have reason to be concerned though he has no idea what to do about it. Where is the line between being a lawman and a concerned ex-boyfriend?

 

As always in this series, much is going on via many fronts, and Samuel Craddock does his best. The Curious Poisoning of Jewel Barnes: A Samuel Craddock Mystery brings back numerous characters that are old friends/ The latest installment of a great series that began with A Killing at Cotton Hill is another solidly good read.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3JmQlU1

 

My digital ARC came by way of Severn House, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Publication Day Review: Murder in Mykonos: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger

 

Murder in Mykonos: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger is the first book in the series originally published by the Poisoned Pen Press. Now published by Severn House, the book begins a series of at least fourteen police procedurals set in Greece. In this case, specifically, the Greek island of Mykonos.

 

At thirty-four, Andreas Kaldis has been a hot shot homicide detective in the capital city of Athens. But, he annoyed those in power, so he has been “promoted” out of town. He is the new Chief of Police for the island of Mykonos. One of the smallest places in the Cyclades Islands, it has become a go to spot for the wealthy who are taking over everything. Those wealthy folks are calling the shots, the locals be damned, and Kaldis is the answer. Not only is he good at his job, it also gets him out of multiple cases in Athens, and allows some powerful people there to sleep better at night.

 

Politics and orders mean that he arrives on the island in early June along with numerous tourists. The first couple of weeks in the new job are rocky as he makes changes, but he has hope of surviving the summer, and getting back to Athens.

 

That hope takes a body blow when a worker discovers a body inside a small church. Kladis is supposed to immediately report the find to the Central Police Headquarters on the bigger island of Syros, but Kladis is here because he tends to do his own thing. So, he wants to see the situation for himself before folks from elsewhere trample all over his possible crime scene.

 

Upon arriving at the church and hearing the story from the worker, it does not take long for them to see the body in the floor of the church. The body inside the very small chamber is recent, decomposing, and clearly posing in place. With confirmation of the body, Kladis has his people report the situation to those who need to know on Syros.

 

A team is dispatched to him and arrives by boat to the island. That assemblage includes a man by the same of Tassos Stamatos, Chief Homicide Investigator for the Cyclades. Though he has several decades of experience on him, he has the same attitude about finding the truth and getting the guilty caught as Kladis. Those additional decades of experience make him better at navigating both local and national politics. That fact will be a huge help as the case moves forward.

 

Primarily because they have stumbled on the unthinkable—a serial killer. The body is the work of a serial killer who has been active for quite some time. A serial killer, who in all likelihood, has taken the daughter of Ambassador Vanden Haag. Young Annika Vanden Haag is also the niece of the Deputy Minister for Public Safety. She is missing and going to be his next kill if Stamatos and Kaldis don’t find him first. 

 

Full of Greek politics and history that does not slow down the mystery at work, Murder in Mykonos: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger is a very good read. Rich in details, both investigators do the work the old-fashioned way of going to a lot of places and asking question.

 

The result is a very complex and extremely entertaining read well worth your time. If you are new to the series, as I am, this is well worth your time and attention.

 

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

 

 

My digital ARC came from Severn House, where I am preapproved, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review. While NetGalley does not yet list the second book, Assassins of Athens, Amazon has it coming out on November 20^th along with the entire rest of the series on the same day.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Fun City Heist by Michael Kardos

 

Michael Kardos invokes visions of rock star wannabes in Fun City Heist, to be published in early December 2025 by Severn House. He dampens those dreams with a considerable dose of realism through stories of backstage concert prep, grueling travel, miserable sleeping accommodations, betrayals by booking agents and managers, and hopes that eventually fizzle.

Sunshine Apocalypse started with a few teenage friends who struggled through constant touring and taking every booking, looking for that one big break to strike gold. Their reality was a record contract, some radio air time, and one song that reached the national top 20. The contract evaporated and the group fractured under the strain.

Thirty years on and none of the band members are doing much more than scraping by. Lead singer John Clay appears from nowhere and wants to pull the band together for one last gig at Fun City, the New Jersey seaside amusement park where the band first played. Clay has wangled a place at the July Fourth celebration at the park, always the highlight of the summer tourist season.

Mo Melnick, the drummer with perfect pitch, hasn’t touched his drums for years, has painful memories of the group’s split, and is reluctant to even consider trying to re-create the past, but the other members are in and they pressure him to join. Then Clay explains his real motive: he intends to rob Fun City to pay his medical bills. The fact he based his plan on logistical information that is years old and not only might have changed but almost definitely has changed doesn’t stop him. He sweeps the rest of the group along with an offer of cash that they can all use.

Mo’s teenage daughter, raised solely by her mother, decided to spend the summer at the New Jersey beach with friends and then moves in with Mo uninvited when a squabble ends the friendship. Mo doesn’t know how he feels about suddenly becoming a guardian but he’s hesitantly intrigued by this human linked to him through genes. He is at first startled and then enchanted by the discovery she has inherited his musical talent.

Nothing about the gig or the robbery goes as planned, as might be expected.

A surprising story, by turns light-hearted and melancholy with overtones of midlife regrets, beautifully expressed. Great ending.

Fans of Donald Westlake’s Dortmunder and of Carl Hiassen will want to look at this book, as will rock afficionados who enjoyed One Last Hit by Nathan Walpow, the music industry references in the Harry McCoy series by Alan Parks, and the Vinyl Detective series by Andrew Cartmel.

 

·         Publisher: ‎Severn House

·         Publication date: ‎December 2, 2025

·         Print length: ‎208 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1448317231

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1448317233

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4p7NaP0

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Desperate Spies by Mark de Castrique

  

North Carolina native Mark de Castrique is an award-winning veteran of the broadcast and film business. In Washington DC, he directed news and public affairs programs and now produces videos for private sector clients.

He’s written two dozen novels, mostly thrillers and mysteries including the Blackman Agency Investigations series, the Buryin’ Barry series, and some stand-alone novels. He displays his knowledge of US government operations in The Secret Lives series. In Book 3, Desperate Spies (Severn House, November 2025), Ethel Fiona Crestwater, a retired FBI agent who now rents rooms in her Arlington, Virginia, house to government agents, and Ethel’s double first cousin twice removed Jesse Cooper return for another hair-raising adventure.

Ethel’s last case as an active FBI agent resulted in a shootout. She killed a suspected Russian spy after he shot an accidental bystander, a college student; Ethel received a serious injury in return. Now, 18 years later, her victim’s brother is out of prison and planning to kill her in retribution. The father of the college student, Tony Bagatelos, is a lawyer with Mafia ties. He is also the attorney for Herman Wilkes, the senior senator from New York who is facing ethics charges over campaign contributions. Bagatelos has approached the FBI to become a confidential informant. He wants to turn over important information but will only give it to Ethel because he always believed he owed a debt to the person who stopped his daughter’s killer.

The FBI doesn’t know what the information Bagatelos is offering is about: the senator, who is suspected of shady dealings, the Mafia, or perhaps something else. But Ethel agrees to meet with the lawyer at a crowded shopping mall, where he gives her a thumb drive and promises more information to come. Upon returning to his car, Bagatelos is stabbed and dies on the floor of the parking garage. The security cameras did not capture the assailant clearly and the license plates turned out to be stolen.

The thumb drive held two pieces of information about classified advances in quantum computing that Bagatelos shouldn’t have had. The resulting puzzle is a complex morass of technology, cybersecurity, politics, spycraft, and police detection with Ethel and Jesse in the middle of it all.

Another well-written, fast-moving story about an indefatigable woman who believes in keeping her friends and who doesn’t believe in retirement. The measures described that countries will employ to get ahead of its nation-state competitors in technology reminds me of the Space Race from the 1960s. Readers familiar with the DC metro area will enjoy traveling through recognizable streets and neighborhoods.

Parts of the story are just too realistic to be funny. The thread with the two agencies who get crosswise with each other while trolling on the internet for potential spies and cyber criminals would be hilarious if it didn’t sound so credible. The senator with slipping acuity surrounded by staff who are desperate to hold onto their power base could be any one of several real-life political figures.

It's a pleasure to have the opportunity to see Ethel and Jesse in action again, although I found this story more serious than the previous two. Recommended.

·         Publisher: ‎ Severn House

·         Publication date: ‎ November 4, 2025

·         Language: ‎ English

·         Print length: ‎ 240 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎ 1448316707

·         ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1448316700

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4nLGfuJ

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Publication Day Review: Throwing Shadows: A Sheriff Hank Worth Mystery by Claire Booth

 

Throwing Shadows: A Sheriff Hank Worth Mystery by Claire Booth is the latest read in a great series that began with The Branson Beauty. This is a series that must be read in order as events happen, create consequential ripple effects just like in real life, and people change. That is especially true in this case as this read is set just a few weeks after the events of Home Fires. Not only is the community dealing with the aftermath, Sheriff Hank Worth and his family are dealing with the scorched earth aftermath of a devastating family secret that burned through them all.

 

In the here and now, Sheriff Hank Worth is dealing with a surge in catalytic converter thefts across Branson County, Missouri. The devices are getting stolen in large numbers off the cars in the local car lots. It is happening in places that have poor or nonexistent security. Nobody has an idea they have been hit until a car is started for a potential customer and the loud racket makes it clear the theft has happened.

 

At the same time, Chief Deputy Sheila Turley is coping with her slowly healing injuries as best as she can as she faces the upcoming trail of her attacker. The same grit and determination that got her through the attack is getting her through each day, a painful minute at a time, now. The odds of getting a fair trial are considerably stacked against her, but Malcolm Oberholz assures her they can win the case.

 

Then a man in very bad shape stumbles out of the thick woods and everything else, personal, and professional, takes a back seat. He claims to have been lost in the woods the last two or three days. Not only was he not prepared to be wandering around in the woods, he was not prepared to find a body. He did. Now the good Sheriff and others on his team have to figure out where the lost man has been and if there really is a body in those woods so lovely, dark, and deep.

 

After some effort a body is found. It isn’t the first time blood has been shed in those same woods. Those woods have a bloody, and often violent, history that goes back decades and rumors of stolen treasure. There is a reason why the area is known to the natives as the “Murder Rocks.” That history inspired a podcast. That, in turn, brought out a bunch of people with zero wilderness skills to hunt loot from long ago. It also seems to have also brought out at least one killer who is not through yet.

 

Throwing Shadows: A Sheriff Hank Worth Mystery by Claire Booth is another very good read. Complicated as these books always are, it also features a lot of interesting local history for us armchair travelers. The result is another really good read that ends all too soon and leaves the reader wanting more.

 

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

 

I picked this up through NetGalley by way of the publisher, Severn House, which has me on their preapproved reviewer list. A fact I am very grateful for as the ability to instantly download is a wonderful thing. There was no expectation of a review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025 

Do Some Damage: Launching a Book into the World

 Do Some Damage: Launching a Book into the World

Lesa's Book Critiques: Murder on the Books by T.C. LoTempio

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Murder on the Books by T.C. LoTempio

Publication Day Review: Deep Dive: A Jessie Madison Thriller by Terry Shames

Deep Dive: A Jessie Madison Thriller is the second book in the series that began a little more than a year ago with the release of Perilous Waters. While it is always better to read any series in order, in this case, most of the events depicted in that book are covered here, so beginning here would work well. This read is also a far better book.

 

As the book begins, Jessie Madison is at home in her new apartment far from the Bahamas. She is living on the reward money she got after those events. She is, for now, putting off looking for a job as the one job she wanted, being a member of an FBI Dive Team, is still closed to her. She plans on working on the case that the Newport News cops could never solve—the murder of her father twelve years ago.

 

She is reviewing the case materials she has one evening when two men in suits show up at her door. They tell her she is wanted for a briefing. John Farrell at Quantico, her former trainer in the FBI program and the man who booted her out, wants to see her in person and as soon as possible. Instead of calling her, he sent the agents and a helicopter and has told the agents nothing beyond the fact that the matter is urgent.

 

She packs a bag and takes the flight as she knows that whatever he wants could be a way to get back into the program. She soon learns that he reached out because somebody above him wants her for an emergency open position with a USERT (Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team) operating overseas. Contacting her was not his idea, but he did what he was told.  A diver on the team was severely injured a few days ago and Jessie Madison would be sent in as his replacement if she agrees.

 

While he doesn’t answer her questions, or tell her much at all about the mission, he does make it clear that this might be a way for her to get back into the training program once the mission is completed. A door that was welded shut before has now cracked open just a hair. So, it was never really in doubt that she was going to take the assignment.

 

Soon she is with the team in Tyrrhenian Sea near the main small island of Lipari located off the northern coast of Sicily. A World War II plane has been found deep underwater and in a precarious position. It appears that the long dead pilot of the plane was wearing a United States uniform at the time of the crash. The plane may have also contained something so important that the government sent FBI divers to the wreckage on a mission clouded in secrecy. Why they are tasked with recovering an unknown object that may or may not be onboard is just one of many questions that are to be answered in Deep Dive: A Jessie Madison Thriller by Terry Shames.

 

While I personally much prefer the Samuel Craddock Mystery series, Deep Dive is an enjoyable book. Much is going on personally and professionally for nearly everyone in the read and the characters very much come alive for the reader. Then there are the overseas elements, the aspects of the dangerous dives, and stream of nefarious people with their own agendas.

 

The result is a complicated and fast moving read as things escalate in unpredictable ways. Deep Dive: A Jessie Madison Thriller by Terry Shames is a good book and a pleasant way to spend your time, on or off the beach.

 

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

 

 

My reading copy came from the publisher, Severn House, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2025