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Samuel Craddock's back and better than ever. This fledgling series (DEAD BROKE is number three) just works its way into the heart of the reader. All of the really good aspects of the long- lasting series are present: a patient, long-suffering, decent, thoughtful, and intelligent protagonist; a small town filled with the usual variety of small town characters, some good, some bad, some appealing, some annoying, some bright, and some "dumber than dirt"; real mysteries, pretty much uncontrived, that need strong investigation by someone who doesn't jump to conclusions; and a setting in the Waco area that twangs oh so true.
The novel opens with a hastily called meeting of the town's folk and its administrators to discuss what to do about the recently uncovered financial situation of Jarrett Creek - its surpluses are not only gone but regular income will not cover expenses even for a matter of months. Town employees will either have to serve on a volunteer basis or quit and find other work. Awful as it is, most of the small police force will have to leave so that they can support their families. The former police chief is still in rehab so Sam is asked to come out of retirement and resume his former position as Chief for a salary of $1.00 per annum until the town can get back on its feet. Sam is stable enough financially to agree to do this and although at his age he may not be able to do things quickly, he is the kind of man who will get them done and done to the best of his ability. Not all of the local citizens are happy with this arrangement, but there is no one else with both the skills to do the job and the need for no salary, so Sam agrees and everyone puts up with it.
The very next morning, the body of the local banker's son, who worked at the bank and was expected to move into his father's position eventually, is found in an area of the meeting place's parking lot that is out of sight from the road. Feelings ran high at the meeting and many people were furious that the mayor had pushed through a project to build a water amusement park out by the lake and had sunk the town's funds into it. The mayor, his advisors, and those who were in any way involved in the project are suddenly extremely unpopular. The closing of the meeting left most issues undealt with and the young banker, who arranged a huge loan for the project, plunging the town into a debt it could never pay off, was right up there on the list of persons everyone wanted to blame.
Sam is called right away to head up the investigation into the murder, even though he isn't even sworn in yet. That part is dealt with quickly and as Sam begins talking to every person who was at the meeting – both to rule them out as suspects and to learn as much as he can about what had actually been going on with the arrangements for the water park – he learns more and more about how shady and ill-advised the project really was.
Terry Shames does not resort to rabbits pulled out of hats or the stranger who turns up at the end of the novel who suddenly turns out to be to blame. She has a wonderful sense of how much there is to be gleaned from the plodding day-to-day, cover-all-the-bases kind of sleuthing. A lot of what Sam has to do is tedious, even boring for him, but the mark of this honorable man is that he does not shy away from what needs to be done even when local townspeople urge him to move in other directions.
This writer is simply a true Texas gem through and through. I love this series and I see that there is a fourth Sam Craddock novel slated for Spring 2015.
Yippee-ki-yi-yay!
§ Diana Borse is retired from teaching English at Texas A&M University-Kingsville and savoring the chance to read as much as she always wanted to.
Reviewed by Diana Borse, September 2014
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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