SHARES THE DARKNESS by J.R. Lindermuth

Like Marilyn Meredith, my host today, I write a contemporary crime series about small town police, their families and friends.

Shares The Darkness is the seventh in my Sticks Hetrick series. Sticks is the primary character, but readers seem to like that solving the crime is most often the result of a team effort (as it is in real police work) and that I devote equal time to making other members of the team fully detailed characters.

Chief among these other characters are Hetrick's proteges Officer Flora Vastine and her boyfriend Corporal Harry Minnich and Hetrick's friend and successor as police chief, Aaron Brubaker.

Marilyn's characters are usually guided by their religious convictions (and she uses those without sounding preachy). Some of my characters are religious as well, others not so much. But the major characters all have a genuine sense of morality. The crime novel is a continuation of the morality play of medieval times. Without morality (whether imposed by religious convictions or reason) we would live in a state of anarchy.

Police in recent days have come under fire because of the actions of some 'bad apples.' I say bad apples, but don't wish to judge these men and women. With all the stress the job and daily life imposes, who's to say what any of us might do under similar circumstances.

Here's the blurb for Shares The Darkness:

Jan Kepler and Swatara Creek Police Officer Flora Vastine were neighbors and schoolmates, but never close.

When Jan, a school teacher, avid birder and niece of a fellow officer, goes missing and is found dead in a nearby tract of woods Flora finds herself thrust into the middle of an examination of the other woman's life, as she searches for clues.

As usual, the police have more than one crime to deal with. There’s illegal timbering and a series of vehicle thefts taking up their time. And there are other issues to deal with. Flora is concerned there’s some shakiness in her relationship with Cpl. Harry Minnich who seems to be making a lot of secretive phone calls.

Still Flora maintains focus on the murder. Despite evidence implicating other suspects, the odd behavior of another former classmate rouses Flora’s suspicion. Flora’s probing opens personal wounds as she observes the cost of obsessive love and tracks down the killer.

Links:

Webpage: http://www.jrlindermuth.net

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/jrlindermuth

Torrid: http://torridbooks.com/

Simon and Schuster: http://www.simonandschuster.com/search/books/_/N-/Ntt-lindermuth

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1005496.J_R_Lindermuth

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I'm a member of International Thriller Writers and the Short Mystery Fiction Society, where I've recently turned over the duties of vice president to fellow writer Larry Chavis.