Absolutely adore the Samuel Craddock series. In this installment, Shames does a wonderful job of exploring a controversial topic that impacts so many of us--and does it with a balanced hand. I didn't see the culprit coming in this one at all, and I love it when that happens! I've recommended this on my socials and in my newsletter--five stars. Thanks so much for the opportunity to read and recommend!

Another good story in this series: gripping and entertaining. It can be read as a stand-alone but better read the rest of the series
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you NetGalley and Severn house for an ARC of this book. This book is in a series and I hadn’t read those before but I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. Shames does a good job of catching you up. The characters aren’t particularly deep, Sam Craddock is a good, honest man who has evidently seen a lot in his years of law enforcement. The story centers on the death, as the title says, of Maddy Benson. She has moved to Jarret Creek to be near her son Josh, and his wife Krista. She is found dead on a farm to town road. It turns out that she was helping women get abortions which are illegal in Texas. Throw in some minor vandalism, Krista’s affair, the local Baptist preacher not approving abortions and you’ve got a mystery. This isn’t the best book I’ve ever read but also not the worst. There isn’t any overt sex and there is no foul language, which I find rare in books these days. This would be good for book club, especially if you have read the others and seen how Craddock evolves.

The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson: A Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames opens with a phone call. Mrs. Jack Currey is worried about her sister and Chief of Police Samuel Craddock just happened to be the one answering the phone. Jarrett Creek, Texas, is a very small town and he pretty much either knows everyone or knows of them. He has no idea who Maddy Benson is, but her sister is insistent she lives in the area.

She also reports that her sister seemed to be out of breath and said something about needing to get away before saying she would call back and hung up. Mrs. Jack Curry is rattled and clearly is concerned about her sister. She finally explains she has not lived there long which is why Chief Craddock does not know her. Mrs. Jack Curry provides the address and Sheriff Craddock realizes that the location is out in a relatively new development north of town.

Chief Craddock and Deputy Maria Trevino go looking in the area and eventually spot an open gate at Tom Gainer’s property. His gate is always closed during the week as he only comes around on weekends. Further investigation deeper into the property yields a body.

The body is female and she has been shot in the middle of the back.

It does not take long at all to determine that the deceased woman is Maddy Benson. Her murder unleashes a complicated tale that had stirred up quite a few members of the local citizenry. People who had found out what she was doing and objected. Threats had been made. The suspect list is a long one and it is not helped by the fact that her family is beset by their own internal grievances and relationship drama.

Much is going on in The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson: A Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames. While it is a good mystery/police procedural read, this is a book that is not for everyone.

A major aspect of the read is what is happening in Texas with abortion and reproductive health care rights. Author Terry Shames deftly encapsulates the fear on one side and the outright anger and hostility shown by some on the other side. It is a deeply felt issue for many people. Therefore, some readers may have a hard time with this read.

The latest in the series, The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson: A Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames deftly deals with a hard subject while entertaining readers with a complicated mystery. Simply put, it is a good read.



My reading copy was an ARC from the publisher, Severn House, through NetGalley.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2024

Jarrett Creek's Samuel Craddock gets an urgent call from a woman worried about her sister Maddy Benson. Craddock goes to investigate & finds Maddy shot dead on a remote farm road. Why had Maddy gone to this location & who would want her dead? Maddy had recently moved from Houston to Jarrett Creek with her writer son Josh & wife Kristen. Slowly, Craddock and his team uncover a series of threats and secrets related to Texas' ban on legal abortions. Did some pro-life activist want to stop Maddy from helping these women? Some Jarrett Creek residents are so upset about Craddock's investigation. A threatening note, a physical attack and a possible end to his police career do not sway Craddock from continuing on to find the truth.

Samuel Craddock, Chief of Police in Jarrett Creek, has a knack for solving mysteries which often feel thrust upon him. In this case it's the murder of Maddy Benson. This is topical and complex with good characters. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Don't worry if you missed the earlier books- this will be fine as a standalone.

I struggled to get into this one. It seemed like every chapter added a new piece of something that quickly became too many things. It started to feel overfilled and ridiculously cliched in the chapters.

Police chief of Jarrett Creek TX, Samuel Craddock, receives a phone call from a distraught woman looking for her mother, who has just moved to Jarrett Creek. Samuel drives out to the road the woman has identified and discovers the body of Maddy Benson, who has been shot at long range. No one knows her well, she and her son and daughter-in-law have just moved. The son writes dense history books about the early 20th century and his wife is a romance author, who makes a lot of money. Maddy Benson was a retired travel agent who made some enemies along the way with her political activism, so there are a lot of suspects. As Samuel investigates, he uncovers there are a lot of local folks who also resent Maddy's politics. As a result of the locals' resentment, Samuel may lose his job. There are a lot of oars steering the boat in Jarrett Creek. I enjoy this series because the characters are people you know, the town gossip, the good neighbors, and all the actions that build a small town. I always like a visit to Jarrett Creek. Recommended for the strong sense of place and likeable characters.

A quick, solid mystery! Things don’t always turn out like they seem… The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson has it all - crime, passion, romance, nostalgia, regrets, redemption…

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Earlier this year, when Terry Shames launched her Jessie Madison series set in the Bahamas, I worried that she was leaving Samuel Craddock behind. Not to worry. She recently signed a contract to continue both series. And, with The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson, she brings Samuel Craddock back in a mystery that's stronger and more relevant than ever. Perhaps she needed a break from the Jarrett Creek, Texas lawman.

Police Chief Samuel Craddock was surprised when he received a phone call from Eileen Currey in San Antonio, saying she was worried about her sister, Maddy Benson. Craddock hadn't heard of Maddy, and he knew of most of the people in the area. But, Maddy and her son and daughter-in-law had only recently moved to a new development there. When Eileen talked to her sister, Maddy sounded worried and out of breath.

Unfortunately, when Craddock and his Deputy Maria Trevino went to the area where Maddy disappeared, they found her body. She had been shot, probably from a distance by a rifle. Craddock and Trevino have support from the Texas Department of Public Safety, but most of the investigation is up to them. And, they're starting from scratch with a woman neither of them know.

The pair find an unlikely couple in Maddy's son and daughter-in-law, two writers who don't seem to get along well. But, as they dig deeper, they discover Maddy had secrets, and was very involved in political activism. Was it her family life or her activism that got her killed?

Samuel Craddock is a direct descendant of Bill Crider's Sheriff Dan Rhodes, a lawman determined to solve crimes in an old fashioned way, talking to people as he gets to know them. He feels responsible for the community, but also examines his own reasons for wanting to solve The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson. Shames' books lack Crider's sense of humor, but the excellent storytelling and Texas atmosphere is similar.

Shames does a masterful job in handling hot subjects related to the political climate in Texas and other states. But, what impresses me the most is her ability to examine the effect of Texas' rigorous new laws on communities and law enforcement.

I received a free copy of, The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson, by Terry Shames, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book eleven in the, Samuel Craddock Mystery series. Maddy Benson moved to a small town, unfortunately she was murdered. Why did Maddy move to a small town, and why was she murdered? Samuel Craddock is determined to find out why. A nice read.

It's time for another visit to Jarrett Creek and to the world of Samuel Craddock. The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson is the latest masterpiece by Terry Shames. I just love the world she has created and the marvellous characters that inhabit said world. This time it's the death of a newcomer in the county and it soon leads to a complicated case involving a hot topic in US society. The story is as always well written and I like the way that the author place various problems in a small town community. I have been a big fan of this series since the beginning and I hope there will be many more mysteries to solve in the future. I recommend this book and thank Severn House and Netgalley for letting me read this advance copy.

DNF at 50% - I tried very hard with this book but it was just...alright. The chapters always ended very neutrally and I didn't feel that pull to keep reading. Some foreshadowing or mystery at the end of chapters would have really improved my desire to turn the pages. I didn't love or hate the characters either, they were all very average. Usually I love small town mysteries but the whole thing felt very flat. Unfortunately I did not care about The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson.

I loved this small town murder mystery! It kept me guessing the entire read. I love the small town Sheriff and Terry Shames set up the town exactly as I would see a small, southern town.

It was fast paced and the story just kept moving along. I read this in one sitting!

5 star read for me! I will be reading more of this series for sure!

Thank you Severn House and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC!

#TheTroublingDeathofMaddyBenson #NetGalley #SevernHouse

Absolutely loved this- The troubling death of Maddy Benson has me hooked from the first page! I didn't know that this was a series so will be reading the others now! A great mystery read that I would 100% recommend

4* Modern-day, small town USA at its worse, makes for an excellent tale.

This is my first book by this author, which is told from the POV of the local police chief, Samuel. It's an excellent story with excellent detective work that brings the explanations alive and makes you believe that this very well could happen in small-town USA with the way US laws on abortion have changed. Tbh, some characters, including the family of a so-called (Baptist) minister, show the country at its worst, believably so, and at the same time, certain parishioners who're true Christians, show it at its best. I think I take so much for granted with the life and employment freedoms in the UK that it's always a shocker to read how little freedom and protections there are in the supposed land of the free. And I liked that the author spoke up about SCOTUS and how, sadly, it's gotten to where it is today, the awful effects of MAGA infiltrating the uneducated masses, and the hypocrisy of the so-called religious arm.

Anyway, that aside, whilst the lead character lacks charisma and modern-day tech skills, his old-school training helps him solve the case, which is actually a sad one. I didn't need to like him or see him in my mind's eye to appreciate and get into the tale.

There were some family dynamics that created the crime scenario but some were just filler that didn't get a proper explanation. Still, the latter didn't spoil the tale and make me want to read more of this guy's cases. And to see the US under a new female president.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Severn House, for my reading pleasure.

I could connect with the characters or story and believe maybe this is not a standalone read? Since I did not finish the book I wanted to only send such feedback for the publisher and will not post a review on Goodreads.

The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson is the 11th book in this terrific police mystery series by Terry Shames. Often, by the time I get this far into a series, I am tired of the characters, but this series is so strong, the small town scenarios so believable, the writing so good that I can not wait for the latest installment. If you are new to the series it takes place in a small, rural town in Texas. In this book Ms Shames tackles the often decisive real life situation of women's reproductive health care in Texas. Samuel Craddock, chief of police in Jarrett Creek, is called out to investigate the shooting death of a woman. Unusual for Chief Craddock he has never met this woman and has a hard time getting a feel for her and why someone wanted to kill her. This book can be read as a stand alone but I highly recommend starting with the first book in the series, A Killing at Cotton Hill, and reading them all.
This series will appeal to readers of the Walt Longmire books by Craig Johnson.

It's always time for rejoicing when Terry Shames writes a new book in the Samuel Craddock mystery series--in this case, book #11, The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson. What makes this series unique and exciting for me is the fact that it is narrated in the first person, present tense by Samuel Craddock himself, the seasoned Chief of Police of Jarrett Creek, Texas, a fictional small town based on the hometown of the author's grandparents. That means we see everything through Samuel's lens(es), including: his impressive step-by-step process to investigate and solve a mysterious death, his personal feelings and concerns about the case and about the state of the world in general; and his perspectives on the important people in his life--loved ones, friends, and coworkers. His point of view lends authenticity and depth to the story, and he becomes, over the life of the series, someone the reader trusts and enjoys, although the book can certainly be read by anyone with no previous experience with the series.

In this book, a woman who feels strongly about women's rights and tries to assist those who are denied those rights, is found dead by gunshot outdoors in a remote area. She had recently moved to Jarrett Creek with her son and daughter-in-law, both writers, hoping that a change of venue would improve the couple's problematic relationship, but no one had expected that tragedy would ensue.

Samuel has to navigate through a miasma of persons of interest, suspects, politics, danger, and emotion to get to the truth. We read a bit about his relationship with his girlfriend, Wendy, but she is not a major character in this story. I particularly enjoyed reading about two of Samuel's deputies--one a woman who exceeds all expectations and the other a man who is starting to question whether he really wants to be a police officer. Highly recommended for those who are looking for an intelligent, masterfully written police procedural without graphic violence.

My sincere thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

The Troubling Death Of Maddy Benson is a gripping thriller. Will we find out what we became of Maddy? Read this book to find out.