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Ray Elmore is the police chief of Split Tree, Arkansas. His small-scale department watches over the 500 residents and fields routine calls from vandalism to domestic strife. Ray wasn’t expecting the call he received one October day in 1964. Ray and Cecil Ben Cooper are alerted to a shooting out on the farm of Dave Tucker. Ray attends to a gravely wounded Tucker and keeps Tucker alive long enough to make it to a hospital, where his wounds prove fatal. Despite Tucker living in Sheriff Cooper’s jurisdiction, Ray offers to help work the case. The distance of the shot and the lack of a clear motive prove enigmatic in Ray’s investigation, which is further complicated by additional shootings. The town is frazzled, and Ray’s job, if not his life, may be on the line if he doesn’t apprehend this homicidal menace.
The simplicity of small-town life is thrown into chaotic turmoil in this exhilarating mystery. Ray’s life has not been free of drawbacks, as his valorous service in World War II left physical and mental wounds. Ray is a heroic protagonist whose modesty forbids him from acknowledging his past heroism. He possesses a fortitude that propels him. Danger is not a stranger in his life, but the elusive gunman represents a new threat to both family and friends. Ray’s loyalty to the law he upholds is tested by how he plans to thwart the shooter. The drama is tangible from the fateful phone call through a stirring coda. The protagonist’s epic clash with a sinister presence will keep the reader engaged and on edge.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review