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Burrows

The Red River Mysteries (Book 2)

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What to expect

Lyndon B. Johnson is president, Beatlemania is in overdrive, and gasoline costs thirty cents a gallon when Ned Parker retires as constable in Center Springs, Texas. But his plan to live a quiet life as a cotton farmer is torpedoed. A phone call leads Ned to a body in the Red River and into the urgent investigation headed by his nephew, the newly elected constable Cody Parker. Together they work to head off a multistate killing spree that sets northeast Texas on fire.

As the weeks pass, Ned’s grandchildren, ten-year-old Top and his tomboy cousin Pepper, struggle with personal issues resulting from their traumatic experiences at the Rock Hole only months before. They now find themselves in the middle of a nightmare for which no one can be prepared.

Cody and Deputy John Washington, the law south of the tracks, follow a lead from their small community to the long-abandoned Cotton Exchange warehouse in Chisum, which they are stunned to find packed full of the town’s cast-off garbage and riddled with booby-trapped passageways and dark burrows. Despite Ned’s warnings, Cody enters the building and finds himself relying on his recent military experiences to save both himself and Big John. Unfortunately, the trail doesn’t end there, and the killing spree continues.

Critics Review

“Outstanding…Wortham combines the gonzo sensibility of Joe R. Lansdale and the elegiac mood of To Kill a Mockingbird to strike just the right balance between childhood innocence and adult horror.”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Full of quirky characters and plenty of action, this fast-paced historical mystery will appeal to readers who enjoy rural settings.” 

Booklist

“With atmosphere so thick you can breathe it, and characters so real you can touch them, Reavis Z. Wortham’s Burrows is a book worth putting all others aside to read. Clear a space on your bookshelves, folks, because the real deal has arrived.”

John Gilstrap, author of Threat Warning and Damage Control

“In Burrows, Reavis Wortham juxtaposes gruesome crimes with a bucolic sixties landscape. It’s a surprisingly intense combination that kept me awake nights after not being able to put the book down. Wortham’s writing makes scenes and characters come to life.” 

Charlotte Rains Dixon, author of Emma Jean's Bad Behavior and director emeritus of the Writer's Loft

“A ripping good tale.”

Jan Reid, author of Comanche Sundown

“As in Ned’s debut, his grandchildren, Top and Pepper, are on hand to provide welcome humor and lend perspective to the acutely and unobtrusively observed small-town landscape. The result is that rare bird, a mystery with something for everyone.”

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Author Reavis Z. Wortham
Narrator Traber Burns
Series The Red River Mysteries
Duration 9 hours and 17 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781481572750
Format Audiobook
Publisher Blackstone Publishing
Genre Crime and mystery fiction, Crime and mystery: police procedural, Historical fiction
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

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