Countdown (Jesse Sutherlin Mysteries, 2) - Softcover

Ramsay, Frederick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1464210586 ISBN 13: 9781464210587

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2018

Synopsis

"Ramsay evokes a time and a place so vividly through Jesse's voice that I didn't read this novel so much as savor every page." ―Dana Stabenow, New York Times bestselling author

It's 1928, Jesse Sutherlin now has his own family and has made a success at the sawmill below Virginia's Buffalo Mountain working for JG Edwards. The country's economy is booming. And then David Privette, the sheriff who succeeded Dalton P. Franklin with whom Jesse had a run-in or two in Copper Kettle, arrives with surprising news―the body of Jesse's father has just been discovered in the pit at Smith's West Oxford Street ice house operation. How could this be? In 1918 a man had brought the family the news that Sutherlin, Sr., had died of the Spanish flu while seeking work up in Norfolk, Virginia.

Sheriff Privette doesn't take a deep interest in this cold crime, but Jesse is not letting it go. The body has been found with a money belt fat with fifty dollars, a small fortune. Twenty of the seventy dollars that Sutherlin Sr. was carrying is missing. So is his heirloom watch given to him for "thirty years' service in the AM and O Railroad which is now the Norfolk and Western. It was gold and big as an onion." What happened to the money and to "the Onion"? Was all this the work of a thief? Who was the man who showed up at the Sutherlins' door? There's not much to work with. But that won't stop Jesse who investigates as the 1928 boom progresses relentlessly toward 1929.

About this title

About the Author

Frederick Ramsay was raised on the east coast and attended graduate school in Chicago. He was a writer of mysteries set in Virginia, (the Ike Schwartz Mysteries) Botswana Mystery series, Jerusalem Mystery series and stand-alones (Impulse, Judas: The Gospel of Betrayal). He was a retired Episcopal Priest, Academic, and author.

Review

"This novel is a sequel to Ramsey's mystery Copper Kettle and occurs eight years later. ...He brings his characters to life while providing a rich and thorough picture of the pre-Depression years and a masterful command of the social customs and history of the era. This well-researched novel is lavished in historical detail. The mystery of Jesse's father's death is not disclosed until this novel's climax, which made the book a page-turner until the end." (Historical Novel Society)

"The late Ramsay's second and last adventure for Jesse Sutherlin brings his hero home from the Great War to a world unknowingly on the brink of further disaster...Ramsay's final salute to his hero, completed by his friend and admirer Dana Stabenow, is a fitting conclusion to a career spent chronicling the exploits of hardworking folks in rural America." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Unforgettable characters lift Ramsay's sequel to 2017's Copper Kettle, set in 1928 in Floyd, Va....While unraveling the mystery is fun, the novel's real pleasure lies in experiencing life - with all its kindnesses, sorrows, and triumphs - through the eyes of Jesse and his astute wife, Serena. Readers new to Ramsay (1936-2017) will want to read his earlier books after finishing this." (Publishers Weekly)

"The cast is delightful, especially Jesse's wife, Serena, a 'sweet mountain girl' who's smarter and tougher than he is and who can't resist letting him know. And a sheriff who hates criminals because they make him work. This has always been an underappreciated series, but this volume is good enough to set off plenty of blips on readers' radar screens." (starred review) (Don Crinklaw Booklist)

About this edition

• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1464210586
• ISBN 13: 9781464210587
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272