Deadly Inheritance

Two years after surviving an IED attack that killed the rest of his squad in Afghanistan, Josh Davenport is wasting away in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He keeps a tight rein on his emotions and his dwindling finances. Though physical wounds have healed, his mental scars and the senseless traffic death of his parents left him reclusive and disillusioned, shunning old friends and refusing to make new ones. Angry at a God he doesn't quite believe in, he seeks no miracles and expects nothing ahead but disappointment. He needs a change, but his prospects are dim. When a certified notice arrives that he has inherited property in Wyoming from a rancher he has never met, he breaks out of his comfort zone and undertakes the long drive to Lone Creek, an old mining town on its last legs. Within hours, his life is threatened, thieves try to steal his truck, and a colorful old lawyer warns that he might be in line to inherit a fortune - if he fulfills the conditions of the will and thwarts the schemes of a rich coal baron. A truck stop waitress and a cowboy priest offer aid and comfort, but also complications, as Josh faces growing threats and the question: What good is wealth if you're dead? Deadly Inheritance is a mystery that blends themes of the Old West, new technology, romance, and a young man's encounter with a legacy of faith that alters his outlook on life and death.

David Jones is a former newspaper editor, crime reporter, sports photographer, recording engineer-producer, burger flipper, insurance salesman, aquaponics master, religious education teacher and, yes, a singer-guitarist in a country-rock band. Among other things. Oh, and a husband, father and grandfather. This eclectic pedigree comes in handy in this, his first novel. He resides in the "Oklahoma Hills" of Little Dixie, or he can be found at:

www.afterthegoldrush.blog