Guilt Strikes at Granger's Store - (Samuel Craddock Mysteries) by Terry Shames

About the Book

Samuel Craddock is perplexed by a series of troubling events at Granger's Store wit the shop owner's son, Mark Granger, is subject to threatening phone calls, an assault and the shop is set on fire. When a body of an outsider is found in the scorched shop, Craddock's investigation takes a deadly turn...

Book Synopsis

Trouble hits an animal feed store in a small Texas town, leading Chief of Police Samuel Craddock to uncover jaw-dropping secrets stretching back thirty years as he grapples to solve a deadly mystery.

Chief of Police Samuel Craddock is perplexed by increasingly troubling events at Granger's Feed Store. The shop's owner, Melvin Granger, recently had a stroke, and his son, Mark, has moved back to the small Texas town of Jarrett Creek to look after him and run the business. But it seems that some town folk are against Mark's plans to renovate and modernize the popular animal feed store . . . Could a devastating fire be linked to an attack on Mark and the threatening phone calls he's been receiving?

When the mummified body of a man originally from Jarrett Creek is found in the scorched shop, Craddock's investigation takes a sudden deadly turn. Who is determined to stop the renovation at any cost, and why? As Craddock investigates, he unearths explosive secrets stretching back thirty years . . .

Review Quotes

A neat character-intensive combo of clever police work and family angst-- "Kirkus Reviews on Murder at the Jubilee Rally"

A surprise ending makes this entry one of Shames' best in an enjoyable series that raises small-town problems and their solutions to an art form-- "Kirkus Reviews on A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary"

Craddock's understated first-person narration, the vivid secondary characters, and a nicely drawn small-town setting . . . Should win Shames new fans-- "Publishers Weekly on Murder at the Jubilee Rally"

Long memories help solve a fascinating case in a small town with plenty of big problems-- "Kirkus Reviews"

Readers new to the series will find themselves quickly at home in Jarrett Creek-- "Publishers Weekly on A Reckoning in the Back Country"

Readers of Shames' earlier Craddock adventures. . .will expect, and get, shocking revelations-- "Booklist"

Series fans and newcomers with a taste for well-wrought regional mysteries will be rewarded-- "Publishers Weekly on A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary"

Shames's award-winning series will appeal to fans of Steven F. Havill and the late Bill Crider-- "Library Journal on A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary"

Suggest for fans of mysteries featuring small-town police forces, including novels by Claire Booth, Steven F. Havill, and Tricia Fields-- "Library Journal Starred Review of Murder at the Jubilee Rally"

The Samuel Craddock series may be the best regional crime series around today. This installment is no exception-- "Library Journal Starred Review"