A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge by Terry Shames, a Mysterious Review.

Review: As Acting Sheriff of Jarrett Creek, Texas, Samuel Craddock gets a call for help from his neighbor, lawyer Jenny Sandstone, and goes to her side immediately. Although Jenny is a very independent and private person, Samuel and Jenny have become good friends. Her mother, Vera, had become quite ill and was in the hospital. Before Vera died, she talked to Samuel, telling him Jenny's life was in danger. She needed him to watch out for her. She also pleaded with him to find Jenny's father, who had walked away from the family when she was a teen-ager. And a strange request, find his first wife. Be sure to find his first wife, in A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge, the fourth mystery in this series by Terry Shames.

When Samuel told Jenny what her mother had said, Jenny was shocked and told him that her mother was the only wife her dad had, and said the subject was closed. For as long as they had been friends, Samuel knew nothing about Jenny's family. Now that Sam needs to know why Jenny is in danger, and from whom, he needs to know more about her. When Samuel began his search for Jenny's father, he finds that Jenny had a brother two years older than her. Again, Jenny would not discuss this aspect of her life. Samuel is facing a real dilemma of the possibility that Jenny is truly in danger. He knows he must learn more about her in order to know what danger she faces and from whom. He must stop looking into this problem as a friend and dig deeper into as a policeman as Jenny was offering no help whatsoever. When he does this, he uncovers threats from her past as a lawyer, and also secrets in her family that her mother may have kept hidden.

A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge is a very good mystery with an intriguing storyline. Samuel Craddock and Jenny Sandstone are appealing characters, and the dynamic between them makes for some very interesting situations. The supporting characters are well drawn and the small town setting is completely on point. It's never clear where the plot is going and how it will be resolved, both positive elements for a mystery. A strong entry in this series, one that is recommended.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge.

Acknowledgment: Seventh Street Books provided an ARC of A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge for this review.

Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek
Seventh Street Books (Trade Paperback), October 2014
ISBN-13: 9781616149963; ISBN-10: 1616149965

A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge

A Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames