Countdown: A Jesse Sutherlin Mystery

Unforgettable characters lift Ramsay’s sequel to 2017’s Copper Kettle, set in 1928 in Floyd, Va. When Sheriff David Privette tells Jesse Sutherlin, who runs a successful sawmill, that his father’s bludgeoned body has been found under the sawdust in a soon-to-be abandoned ice house, Jesse is stunned, as the family thought that Pa Sutherlin died in 1918 of the Spanish flu in Norfolk. Once the identification is confirmed, Jesse vows to find the killer. His only hope lies in locating the man who told his family in 1918 that his father was dead and locating his father’s distinctive pocket watch, which was not with the body. He gets no help from Privette, who considers the investigation a lost cause, and finds his own life in peril. While unraveling the mystery is fun, the novel’s real pleasure lies in experiencing life—with all its kindnesses, sorrows, and triumphs—through the eyes of Jesse and his astute wife, Serena. Readers new to Ramsay (1936–2017) will want to read his earlier books after finishing this. (July)