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A carregar... An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock: A Samuel Craddock Mysterypor Terry Shames
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Adira ao LibraryThing para descobrir se irá gostar deste livro. Ainda não há conversas na Discussão sobre este livro. Disclaimer #1: I received a free copy of An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock from the publisher through Goodreads. Thank you! Disclaimer #2: I have not read any of the other Samuel Craddock books... but next time I'm in the mood for a good Southern mystery, I will definitely be picking one up. This is an engaging mystery dealing with drugs, hypocrisy, and, most of all, racism. Through Samuel Craddock's investigation into a brutal set of murders, the author provides a compelling look at small-town corruption, including within law enforcement. Craddock as a character is wonderful, and I'm definitely interested in reading more about him. (This book works well as a stand-alone, but I suspect there is some information about him that I'm missing out on by starting here, and I'm curious to read the other books and gain even more depth into my perception of his character.) Overall, very enjoyable! Billed as a Samuel Craddock Mystery Prequel the latest read from author Terry Shames takes readers back decades ago when a young Samuel Craddock came home to be police chief of the small south Texas town, Jarret Creek. It is the mid-80s and the city council wants a younger man to deal with the drug problem. A stint in the Air Force as well as college wasn’t law enforcement experience or training, so the county paid for Samuel to take a three month training course over in Austin. As An Unsettling Crime For Samuel Craddock opens, Samuel gets a call about a very bad situation over in “darktown.” Known as the area where the African Americans live, a tragedy has happened. In the wake of an overnight fire, a certain home there is the scene of five deaths. The fire wasn’t totally responsible. At least one of the victims was shot. It appears that quite possibly all of the bodies are of kids. Despite the fact the case occurred inside the city limits of Jarret Creek, according to the John Sutherland of the Texas Highway Patrol, he will be handling the case as he claims they have jurisdiction. While that might be true, the more likely scenario is for investigators from the legendary law enforcement agency in Texas, the Texas Rangers to take over. Even when the Rangers arrive in the form of Curren Wills and Luke Schoppe, Sutherland insists on handling the case his way. Not only is Sutherland arrogant and abusive, he is also clearly racist. It isn’t surprising when Sutherland, ignoring Craddock, goes after the wrong man providing that he also does not care one whit about anything other than clearing a case one way or another. That drug problem Craddock was hired to deal with has its own complications and will take a backseat to the more pressing problem of making sure that an innocent man goes free. Racism to varying degrees is a constant undertone to this latest mystery. Readers are treated to a different version of Jeanne, Craddock’s wife, as she is very much alive in the read. Also clear are some of the issues that will define Craddock’s legacy in the coming years. For those new to the series, it would make a lot of sense to begin with An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock. For those of us that have read all of the books, there is plenty of mystery and character nuance to consider in this read. We get to learn how it all began in this highly entertaining read. Prequels often don’t work, but this one does from start to finish. An Unsettling Crime For Samuel Craddock: A Samuel Craddock Mystery Prequel Terry Shames http://www.Terryshames.com Seventh Street Books http://www.seventhstreetbooks.com Jan 2017 ISBN# 978-1-63388-209-6 Paperback (also available in eBook format) 270 Pages $15.95 Material supplied by the Plano Public Library System. Kevin R. Tipple ©2017 Not having read any of the books in this series, I cannot comment on how well it works as a prequel but, on its own, it's a capable mystery involving a likable and well-developed, young police chief who is quickly in over his head when a burned house reveals five dead including several under age and killed by gunshot. Samuel Craddock's job has been fairly easy and he's inclined to let the Texas Rangers handle this complicated and ugly crime. But when a young African-American man from town is arrested, Samuel is certain he's innocent and cannot let him be railroaded by a corrupt, racist system. Craddock is simultaneously dealing with a drug problem at the high school and family issues. Shames' narrative style is calm and relaxed but she creates realistic tension in the right places and never resorts to melodrama. A smart, thoughtful mystery exploring issues of small towns, racism, family dysfunction, and ethics. sem críticas | adicionar uma crítica
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HTML:When the Jarrett Creek Fire Department is called to douse a blaze on the outskirts of town, they discover a grisly scene: five black young people have been murdered. Newly elected Chief of Police Samuel Craddock, just back from a stint in the Air Force, finds himself an outsider in the investigation headed by the Texas Highway Patrol. He takes an immediate dislike to John Sutherland, a racist trooper Craddock's fears are realized when Sutherland arrests Truly Bennett, a young black man whom Craddock knows and respects. Sutherland cites dubious evidence that points to Bennett, and Craddock uncovers facts leading in another direction. When Sutherland refuses to relent, Craddock is faced with a choice that will define him as a lawman??either let the highway patrol have its way, or take on a separate investigation himself. Although his choice to investigate puts both Craddock and his family in danger, he perseveres. In the process, he learns something about himself and the limits of law enforcement in Jarrett Creek. From the Trade Paperback edition. Não foram encontradas descrições de bibliotecas. |
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Google Books — A carregar... GénerosSistema Decimal de Melvil (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyClassificação da Biblioteca do Congresso dos EUA (LCC)AvaliaçãoMédia:
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As prequels go, the sixth Samuel Craddock is not bad - we get to mean Jeanne and Samuel's brother (the father of the nephew we had seen before), we meet our Chief of Police the first time he was named that and we get to see the back story of Truly. And that's where this book feels a bit unnecessary and a bit heavy handed - we know that Truly won't end up in prison so a lot of the suspense feels like Shames trying to make Samuel look very progressive and modern in the middle of town steeped in bigotry and racism.
The crime itself is gruesome (a family is found shot and then burned) and the family secrets it reveals (not just that family ones) makes Jarrett Creek one of those small towns where everything looks well on the surface but as soon as you try to check under the veneer, things collapse.
At the end, I am happy that we saw the parts of the past that we had not seen before but... something was just off. It was not a bad novel and if it was not part of this series, it would have worked beautifully. As part of the series, it just falls a bit short. ( )