Some years ago, Judy and I read the manuscript of Here Lies a Wicked Man (under a different title), and we both thought it was really good and that it had a great chance for publication. About that time, however, the author, Chris Rogers, got a very nice deal for her series featuring Houston bounty hunter Dixie Flannigan, so Here Lies a Wicked Man got set aside. Now it's been revised and published, so I read it again. It's still a good one.Booker Krane was a corporate investigator, rooting out fraud and corruption. One bank exec didn't take too kindly to being found out and put a bullet in Krane. When he recovers, Krane decides to find new pursuits, so he moves to Turtle Lake, a small country community with a lake stocked with bass, a golf course, and a lot of archery enthusiasts. His intent is to reinvent himself as a photographer. He's working on a choice assignment when his dog drags a dead body out of the lake. The body is that of Chuck Fowler, the wicked man of the title, and Krane's life is about to change again.
Krane's investigative instincts take over, and although the sheriff insists that Fowler's death is an unfortunate accident, Krane thinks Fowler was murdered. He can hardly resist wondering about who might have killed Fowler. It seems like just about everybody in Turtle Lake has a motive and the ability with a bow necessary to put an arrow in to Fowler, even though the sheriff believes that Fowler fell onto his own arrow.
Krane has other problems, too. He's divorced, and his teenage son shows up on his doorstep. Krane has to learn how to be a father to someone who's a bit like a stranger to him. And then there's Roxanna, the owner of a struggling B&B, to whom Krane's strongly attracted. My favorite character in the book is probably the nosy Emaline Peters, who's into astrology and who knows all the dirt on everybody in Turtle Lake.
Here Lies a Wicked Man is a solidly constructed mystery with romance, some laughs, and a strong cast. I suspect it might be the first of a series, and a return visit to Turtle Creek would be welcome.
