First published 2013
Tony Abernathy thought his days of facing deadly violence were over. After a gunshot nearly killed him on the Chicago police force, he moved his family to quiet Silersville, Tennessee, where his wife Theo runs a quilt shop and he serves as the local sheriff. His biggest problems involve handling the town drunks. Then someone discovers a traveling preacher dead in his car, handcuffed to the wheel with poisonous snakes crawling over his corpse. The death looks like snakebite, but Tony suspects murder when he learns the victim had a criminal past and connections to Miss Ruby, who owns the café where his car sat parked. The investigation grows more disturbing when body parts begin appearing around town. Tony cannot determine if these grisly discoveries connect to the preacher's death. With Theo's help, he must uncover the truth behind these brutal crimes before the killer chooses another victim in their once peaceful community.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, found-family
Setting: Silersville, Tennessee, Chicago
Period: Contemporary
282 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Worldwide Library Worldwide Mystery