A Killing At Cotton Hill

The chief of police of Jarrett Creek, Texas, doubles as the town drunk. So when Dora Lee Parjeter is murdered, her old friend and former police chief Samuel Craddock steps in. He discovers that a lot of people had it in for Dora Lee. The conniving rascals on the farm next door want her land for nefarious purposes; her estranged daughter could be seeking vengeance; her grandson wants money for art school; and then there's that stranger Dora Lee claimed was spying on her. Does Craddock still have what it takes to find the killer? In this debut novel, the strong, compelling voice of Samuel Craddock illuminates the grandeur and loneliness of the central Texas landscape and reveals the human foibles of the residents in a small Texas town-their pettiness and generosity, their secret vices and true virtues.


Genre: Cozy Mystery

"Readers are going to love [Samuel Craddock] and they'll want to visit him and Jarrett Creek, Texas, often." - Bill Crider

"I love Samuel Craddock, I love this town, and I love this series of books." - Timothy Hallinan

"A Killing at Cotton Hill enchants with memorable characters. . . . A splendid debut by a gifted writer who knows the human heart." - Carolyn Hart

"There may be no protagonist in our genre today as decently compelling as Samuel Craddock. And there may be no better chronicler of the character and complexity of small-town America than Terry Shames." - William Kent Krueger

"Not just another retired lawman, Samuel Craddock is wizened but not hardened, rusty but still plenty sharp. . . . Samuel anchors a compelling cast of characters that imbues A Killing at Cotton Hill with style, heart, and a generous helping of rural sensibility." - Sophie Littlefield

"Craddock is a man you want to have covering your back, and Shames's small Texas town is so real you can taste the dirt. Beautifully written." - Susan C Shea