A Deadly Turn by Clare Booth

First Sentence:  He walked casually up to the car.

      

Branson County Sheriff Hank Worth stops a car with six teens clearly out for a joy ride.  He lets them go with a warning only to receive a call a short time later of a serious traffic accident and arrives to find all six kids dead.  The closer Hank looks at the scene, the more he questions whether it was an accident, or whether foul play was involved.

      

Booth does an excellent job of conveying the devastation and guilt Hank feels, while creating excellent characters to back him up.  Booth does a good job of introducing one character who transforms fairly quickly.  That Booth provides a short biography on each of the victims adds verisimilitude; they aren't characters, they are victims. 

      

This is a book where a cast of characters would have been particularly helpful.  There is a multitude of officers from a multitude of agencies not always working with those in their own agency.  It can have the feel of musical chairs at times, including with the families of the victims and others.  However, one thing is that Booth's characters do ring true in all ways.

      

It's nice how quickly the anomalies begin to appear and give the sense that the accident is more than it first seems.  In the end, it's good, old-fashioned police work, following the clues, and an exciting car chase that solves the crime.  

That there is an unnecessary, unrelated cliffhanger at the end was annoying.  One may also wish to start the series at the beginning rather than with this, the third book, in order to have a better understanding of the characters.

      

"A Deadly Turn" is a good read with plenty of twists and turns.  Sheriff Hank Worth could easily join one's list of favorite characters.  

A DEADLY TURN (PolProc-Sheriff Hank Worth-Missouri-Contemp)-G+

      Booth, Claire – 3^rd in series
      Severn House Digital – March 2019