A Homecoming for Murder

Sheriff Bramlett Mystery #2

by John Armistead

When the cheering dies, murder begins...

In the town of Sheffield, Mississippi, football is next to godliness, and homecoming is the shrine.  But this year, as the homecoming queens—one white, one black—are crowned and families take their usual places in the stands, shocking news is broadcast over the stadium loudspeakers: a popular high school teacher has been found murdered in a cemetery on the edge of town.  

Sheriff Grover Bramlett is a devoted husband, a good cop, and an amateur painter.  Bramlett knows the people, the histories, and the rhythms of Chakchiuma County.  But the murder of a teacher—a man who may have been too friendly with his students—is suddenly making Bramlett a stranger to his familiar world, leading him to the doors of neighbors he once thought he knew.  And when another murder follows the first, Bramlett is suddenly forced to turn his small town inside out.  Because someone is killing in Sheffield to protect a secret—the kind of secret that tears families, lovers, and friends apart, and makes murder right at home.

Genres: Mystery

Audio Cassette

First published August 1, 1995

About the author

John Armistead, an ordained minister, is an award-winning author, artist, and journalist. He holds degrees from Mississippi College, the University of Mississippi, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

"I have been writing fiction since high school," said Armistead, "and painting since childhood."

Armistead began formal studio training in Mobile when he was eight years old, working in pastels and oils. He continued art studies through college, and in recent years has participated in master's classes taught by Everett Raymond Kinstler at the Lyme Academy of Fine Art in Old Lyme, Connecticut, the Art Student's League of New York, and the National Academy of Design in New York City. The influence of Kinstler, the country's foremost painter of five U.S. presidents and over 50 cabinet members, is increasingly evident in his work.

Armistead, born in 1941, began publishing short stories and articles during the 1970s, but did not publish his first novel until 1994.

"I have always loved stories," said Armistead. "Like every Southern writer of my generation, I remember sitting on the front porch and hearing my great-aunts and grandmother talk of people and events from long past days. I can also remember beginning to make up my own stories, daydreaming, as it were, when I was in grammar school. That's still the way I make up stories today."

Armistead is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the Authors Guild, the National Association of Independent Artists, the Portrait Society of America, and the Harley Owners Group (HOG).

Armistead is the author of three mystery novels and two novels for teen-agers, and hundreds of his paintings hang in museums and homes throughout the country.

He lives with his family in Tupelo, Mississippi.

"There is a quote from Pliny cherished by both artists and writers, 'Nulla dies sine linea,'" said Armistead. "It means, 'Never a day without a line.' That's my credo too. For me, it applies to both writing and art."

Reviews

[Nancy L Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in 1997. Don't remember much about it but the same year I read 2 more in the series---those 3 are all that goodreads has as of 7SEP2019. So on the basis that I stucknwithbthe series will them all 4 stars. The series is set in fictional town (Sheffield) in NE Mississippi.
I checked the books out from the public library in Sheffield, Alabama.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe undeserving of 5 stars for its place in the annals of literature, but you know what, sometimes a book just entertains you.

This book entertained me. I could smell the magnolias and almost taste the fried catfish. Living abroad, Armistead made me yearn for my Southland, the people, the food, culture... I can't wait to get back to Mississippi.

It's also a very entertaining plot/storyline, with some likable characters. Five stars.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

[Pam Hurd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was entertained. A solid murder mystery. I rarely give out five stars any more. Not because the quality is less but needed something thing for those that knock my socks off with parts that stick forever. Good read.