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13 ratings | 9 reviews | avg rating:4.23

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Terry Shames

Goodreads Author

Born

Orlando, FL, The United States

Website

http://terryshames.com/

Genre

Mystery, Crime, Thriller

Member Since

July 2008

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/terryshames

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Terry Shames is the award-winning, best-selling author of eleven Samuel Craddock mysteries. Her first book, A Killing at Cotton Hill won the Macavity Award for Best First novel Her books have been shortlisted for the Strand Critics Award, Lefty awards, and won the RT Reviews Critics award. The eleventh in the series, The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson, October, 2024, was an Amazon Editor's Pick and won a starred review in Library Journal.

In 2024, she debuted the Jessie Madison thriller series, with Perilous Waters. In March, 2025, she published Out of Control, a suspense novel.

Terry is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers.

She lives in Southern California with her husband, her dog M ...more

2461 posts
Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds

Childhood trauma seemsto inform a lot of literary novels...

Childhood trauma seemsto inform a lot of literary novels. Do you pull from any fears, anxiety ortrauma from your early life into your work?

I grew up in the innercity of Cleveland, Ohio, where traumatic experiences happen so often to children,that they don’t even recognize it as trauma, just a way of life. Gun violence,loss, fear and grief was often more prevalent than joy in my childhood. I lost

Combine Editions
Terry Shames’s books

Average rating: 4.01 · 5,073 ratings · 795 reviews · 25 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Killing at Cotton Hill (Samuel Craddock Mystery, #1) 3.97 avg rating — 1,050 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Death of Jack Harbin (Samuel Craddock Mystery, #2) 4.02 avg rating — 611 ratings — published 2014 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake (Samuel Craddock Mystery, #5) 3.97 avg rating — 616 ratings — published 2016 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek (Samuel Craddock Mystery, #3) 3.95 avg rating — 476 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge (Samuel Craddock Mystery, #4) 4.07 avg rating — 429 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock (Samuel Craddock Mystery, #6) 4.12 avg rating — 396 ratings — published 2017 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Reckoning in the Back Country: A Samuel Craddock Mystery 4.11 avg rating — 308 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary (Samuel Craddock Mystery, #8) 4.01 avg rating — 290 ratings — published 2019 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Murder at the Jubilee Rally (Samuel Craddock Mystery, #9) 3.96 avg rating — 201 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Guilt Strikes at Granger's Store (A Samuel Craddock Mystery, 10) 4.09 avg rating — 170 ratings — published 2023 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Terry Shames

Samuel Craddock Mystery (12 books)
by

Terry Shames (Goodreads Author)

4.02 avg rating — 4,796 ratings

Jessie Madison (2 books)
by

Terry Shames (Goodreads Author)

3.74 avg rating — 195 ratings

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Terry’s Recent Updates

Terry Shames wrote a new blog post Childhood trauma seemsto inform a lot of literary novels... Childhood trauma seemsto inform a lot of literary novels. Do you pull from any fears, anxiety ortrauma from your early life into your work? I grew up Read more of this blog post »
8 hours, 47 min ago · like
Terry Shames rated a book it was amazing 51% by Matt Witten (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51% is a dark, dark dystopian vision of a future in which corporate greed can turn a desperate person into a 51%er at a moment’s notice. As the clock counts down, this sci-fi thriller will keep you gasping at its twists and turns, and rooting for the ...more
Mar 27, 2026 02:42PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of 51% by Matt Witten. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — 51% by Matt Witten <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Terry Shames rated a book it was amazing Hell or High Winter (Holy Trinity, 1) by Andrew Rubin (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Hell or High Water is the most imaginative book I’ve read in years. At base it’s a retelling of the myth of Hermes and Persephone, but it’s actually much more. It’s an exploration of what it means to be a god. Many of the gods have grown old and they ...more
Oct 21, 2025 12:28PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Hell or High Winter by Andrew Rubin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Hell or High Winter by Andrew Rubin <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Terry Shames finished reading A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary (Samuel Craddock Mystery, #8) by Terry Shames (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 09, 2025 10:20AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary by Terry Shames. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary by Terry Shames <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Terry Shames (?)

“ropy arms and longish dishwater-blond hair that doesn’t”
― Terry Shames, Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek: A Samuel Craddock Mystery

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