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Terry Shames

Author of A Killing at Cotton Hill

11+ Works 372 Members 29 Reviews 2 Favorited

About the Author

Terry Shames is the author of the Samuel Craddock series and the coeditor of Fire in the Hills, a book of stories, poems, and photographs about the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire. (Bowker Author Biography)

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Works by Terry Shames

Associated Works

Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer's Journey (2014) — Contributor — 17 copies
Jewish Noir II: Tales of Crime and Other Dark Deeds (2022) — Contributor — 17 copies

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As Guilt Strikes at Granger’s Store by Terry Shames opens, Wendy is frantic. Samuel Craddock has been dating her for a couple of years now and has never heard her like this before. She is very upset and for good reason.

Her daughter, Allison, is in jail in Monterrey, Mexico. Chief of Police Samuel Craddock has some influence locally, but Mexico is far out of his jurisdiction and sphere of influence. Apparently, Allison was in some sort of auto accident. She is okay, but in custody because she did not have Mexican auto insurance. The authorities take a dim view of this kind of situation. Finding out what is going on as well as how to help, if he can, is going to take time.

At the same time, a far more urgent matter, and one that is in his jurisdiction comes up while he is talking to Wendy and trying to calm her fear. A few months ago, Melvin Granger had a stroke that resulted in him being bedridden. The prognosis for Melvin is not good.

His son, Mark, moved back home from Houston to take care of Dad and run the Feedstore. Word has gotten around that Mark has big plans for the store. He plans to update it and add some sort of gift shop, among other things. None of his plans should have caused anybody to attack him, yet that is exactly what has happened.

Found by his sister, Chelsea, who is just now also home to take care of dad as well as to talk to Mark about his plans, he was on the floor of the store this very morning. Mark had a cut on his forehead and was very dazed. Mark and Chelsea were to meet and go over his renovation plans. Not that their meeting would have moved her, in all likelihood. She is very much against the idea of any changes. The fact that this happened reinforced her belief that this idea of Mark’s is a bad one.

It might be, according to the attackers, as one of the two men who attacked Mark also told him to leave town. Before he is loaded into the ambulance, Mark tells Chief Craddock that there have also been a couple of strange and threatening phone calls. Clearly, somebody wants the store left as is and is not taking no for an answer.

As the situation with Wendy’s daughter in Mexico gets stranger by the day, so too does the situation with the store in Jarret Creek, Texas. The result is Sameul Craddock is forced to juggle both deals and a couple of other things in Guilt Strikes at Granger’s Store. So much for that idea that small town life is easy.

A long running and very good series that began with A Killing at Cotton Hill, this tenth book in the series is another solidly good one. No new ground in character development is broken here as the majority of these characters were fleshed out long ago. Instead, the primary focus is on the mysteries of what happened with Alison south of the border and what happened at Granger’s store. Each is a satisfying mystery in its own right.

This latest book in the series very briefly references earlier events, but does so in such a way that one could easily read this one first if new to the series. For long time readers, it is a much-needed treat to go back to Jarret Creek and the life of Samuel Cradock and friends. Guilt Strikes at Granger’s Store is strongly recommended, as is the entire series.

My reading copy came as an ARC from the publisher, Severn House, through NetGalley.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2023
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kevinrtipple | Oct 13, 2023 |
And we are back to (fictional) Jarrett Creek, Texas for the 9th installment (8 in the current timeline, one in the past...) of the very enjoyable mystery series.

The annual Jubilee Motorcycle Rally had been a tradition in town but a lot of the locals dislike the noise and all the bikes which overrun the town while the Rally is going on. The local business owners on the other hand love the event. Which causes another spat in the small town - with our favorite police chief Samuel Craddock in the middle of it. One side wants to cancel the Rally, the other one insists that it is needed for them to survive. So a compromise is finally found - close all local businesses early on the days of the Rally unless they have a special permission by the police to stay open later. And then a woman is found dead on the rally and it becomes clear that she is actually a local business owner.

In the meantime, Hailey, Craddock's great-niece gets sent to him for a while as her parents cannot deal with her teenage antics. Between the girl (who really does not want to be there), the dead woman and the divided town, it is a very busy weekend. And with the Rally and all the people who traveled for it leaving shortly, the death may remain unexplained unless everyone moves fast. Hailey does not help matters much by getting involved in ways she really should have not - but then she is not visiting because she is a beacon of clear thoughts and good decisions.

As much as I enjoy the mysteries in the series, I also enjoy the story of life in the small town. These are similar to the English countryside novels which take a lot of room in the genre - just transposed a bit west. This one worried me a bit - the rally changes the focus but in reality, it actually accentuated it - the bike riders are a community as well and the mix between them and the town itself added something to the whole novel.

The novels in the series work on their own but they work a lot better as a whole - the later ones (including this one) reference earlier events and often mentions people expecting that you know who they are (or with very little introduction). I like visiting the small town every year... and now it is time to wait for the next novel to be published.
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AnnieMod | 1 other review | Jun 6, 2023 |
Murder at the Jubilee Rally: A Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames opens with many of the locals less than thrilled with the coming event featuring motorcycle folks from all over. Some want the entire town closed for business during the Jubilee Motorcycle Rally. They want to force those attending to go over to Bobtail, another small town about ten miles away, to do their shopping. The theory being shutting down everything will keep the bikes and their noise out of the town.

Of course, the small business folks who need the money from the out of towners hate the idea as do the locals who do not want to be inconvenienced. Folks are very heated on both sides of the issue. The town meeting causes some folks to say things that would have been better left unsaid. Thanks to Police Chief Samuel Craddock and a couple of others, a compromise is worked out, where some businesses have an early curfew while others do not.

Soon the rally is underway, the compromise is working well, and things at the rally which draws hundreds of folks from all over the state of Texas and beyond are going okay. That is until a murder happens.

A murder that makes things way more complicated as Craddock and his team have been trying to keep things calm at the rally and in town. Not that ever having a murder is a good thing, but the timing right now is really bad, and not just because of the local event.

Craddock is also dealing with a serious family problem as his niece Hailey is giving her parents fits. The little girl he remembers is not the child she was if her parents are right about everything that is going on with her. The teen years can be ugly and things are ugly. Sixteen and acting out with alcohol, possibly using drugs, and sneaking out to see an older guy are just part of it. She is acting up at school too and her grades are falling. Things are so bad her parents are thinking of sending her to a boarding school for troubled kids.

Hailey and Samuel used to get along pretty well and she liked to watch the cows Samuel has and spend time with him. He offers for her to come stay a few days to give everyone a break. Samuel believes that if things get difficult, he can get advice and help from his lady friend, Wendy, as she has raised two girls and survived the teen wars. Before long, Hailey is in the house. The bad thing is, trouble in more than one form, followed her from Austin.

Between the murder of a local business owner, Hailey’s antics, and other things, there is no rest for a good lawman. Samuel Craddock and his patience is put to the test constantly through this read. Drama and trouble, on and off the job, power Murder at the Jubilee Rally: A Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames as does the summer time Texas heat and humidity.

If you have not acquainted yourself with the series, you should, and you could safely start here as references to prior events/books are limited. If you are a reader of the series that began long ago with A Killing at Cotton Hill: A Samuel Craddock Mystery then you know you are in for another fun read as author Terry Shames does not disappoint with Murder at the Jubilee Rally: A Samuel Craddock Mystery.

While the book is not scheduled to be released by Severn House until October 4, 2022, I was able to read it now thanks to a digital ARC from them through NetGalley.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2022
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kevinrtipple | 1 other review | Aug 7, 2022 |
"A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge" is the fourth entry in the "Samuel Craddock Mysteries" from author Terry Shames. If you haven't read the first three books in the series, I highly recommend reading all four books in order--you will really enjoy them as a reader's treat! As the "retired" chief of police for the small town of Jarrett Creek, Texas, eventually Samuel Craddock had to accept that his retirement just didn't take. When the town went broke, Samuel was hired back, unpaid, as the acting chief of police. A lawman is a lawman every day of his life. There's no way to escape the needs of the public, crime will live exactly as long as humanity exists, and small towns have their share of big secrets. This time, Samuel's neighbor, Jenny Sandstone, needs his help. When Jenny's mother, Vera, has a stroke, Samuel, who doesn't care for horses, finds himself caring for Jenny's horses and watching her property. At the hospital, Vera warns Samuel that Jenny is in danger. At first, Vera seems to be recovering, but she takes a turn for the worse, and passes away in the hospital. Samuel has questions about her death, and his concerns about strange incidents occurring at Jenny's place have his investigative instincts on the alert. All the while, he is dealing with the personalities and problems of the locals, and he is just the right man for the job. When things take a more deadly turn, and Jenny's life is threatened, Samuel's investigation deepens, and he realizes that Jenny's past is the key to the mystery. He has to convince Jenny to confront her past so that he can help her with the danger she faces, and then she can begin to think about the future. Terry Shames has created a wonderful protagonist in Samuel Craddock, and her involving, enjoyable writing style will have you looking forward to the next adventure for her likeable lawman.

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gincam | 2 other reviews | Sep 15, 2019 |

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