Fallen from Grace

by J.R. Lindermuth

As the 19th century winds to a close, Sheriff Sylvester Tilghman of the small Pennsylvania town of Arahpot ponders his biggest problems: finding a new deputy and convincing his true love, Lydia, to marry him. But an early autumn day finds Arahpot's usual tranquility shaken when a stranger is fatally stabbed. Upon seeing the victim, Tilghman recalls witnessing a strained encounter between him and Valentine Deibert, an obese man with a wife half his age who had recently moved to Arahpot. The sheriff questions Deibert who denies knowing the victim. Tilgman is unconvinced, but lacks a connection until the widow arrives in Arahpot and tells how her husband was in pursuit of a man who had scammed him, bankrupting his business. Sylvester pays another visit to Deibert only to discover him dead of arsenic poisoning. Suddenly Sylvester is plunged into investigating two murders. As he works through an abundance of motivated suspects, Tilghman finds himself in danger. And worse -- Lydia is pushing her obnoxious cousin as a candidate for deputy. **** A retired newspaper editor, J. R. Lindermuth lives and writes in central Pennsylvania. Since his retirement he has served as librarian of his county historical society where he assists patrons with research and genealogy.

Kindle Edition

First published March 7, 2011

About the author

J.R. Lindermuth lives and writes in central Pennsylvania. A retired newspaper editor/writer, he is also librarian of his county historical society where he assists clients with research and genealogy.
He's the author of 20 published novels and two regional histories He has published stories and articles in a variety of magazines, both print and on-line.
He is a member of International Thriller Writers and is a former vice president of the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Reviews

[Kevintipple · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is deep in the night October 5, 1897 when Sheriff Sylvester Tilghman is awoken by someone throwing small rocks at his bedroom window. Doctor Mariner has sent a young boy, Simon Hinkle, over to wake the sheriff. The good doctor sent for the sheriff because he is treating a man that has been stabbed. Local resident Ollie Cramer found the man stabbed out on the road by the new bridge on the south side of town. A man that the doctor and almost no one else in the small town of Arahpot, Pennsylvania seems to know.

Not only does the sheriff know the name the man of the man, he had seen him earlier with Valentine Deibert. Both men seemed to know each other and had words with Valentine Deibert looking absolutely terrified at the end of their meeting. When Sheriff Tilghman asked him about it, Valentine Deibert totally denied everything and claimed to not know the man.

The same thing the man had claimed when Sheriff Tilghman tracked him down at Buchner’s livery. The man told the sheriff he didn’t know Valentine Deibert and was just passing through town. Sheriff Tilghman didn’t believe him then, but couldn’t really do anything about it. Now that the man, who called himself Conrad Runkle, is a victim of a criminal assault Sheriff Tilghman can investigate and ask questions. Since Mr. Runkle can’t answer any questions as he lost a lot of a blood and is unconscious, Sheriff Tilghman will start with Valentine Deibert and his family.

While Sheriff Sylvester Tilghman has lots of questions, he receives very few answers in this complex mystery. His situation with the Runkle case is almost as confusing and complicated as is the target of his romantic intentions, Lydia. A story willed woman who seems to welcome his romantic interest, frequently has him over to meals and clearly enjoys his company, but for unknown reasons of her own continues to turn down his marriage proposals. A mystery of its own that has confounded the good sheriff for some time. One that will have to take a backseat to solving what happened to Conrad Runkle.

This is an engrossing and complex mystery that quickly pulls readers into the world of Sheriff Tilghman. A world populated by fully developed characters in all walks of life that give rise to side stories and details. A world that is slowly changing before readers eyes as these are the warning days of the telegraph, gas lights, etc. A world that is full of history and mystery as well as the occasional funny moment.

Fallen From Grace by J. R. Lindermuth is a complex mystery full of twists and turns. Authentic to its time, the read from start to finish has a deeply western frontier type feel to it though the setting is Pennsylvania. The result is a very good read and one that works on all levels.

FALLEN FROM GRACE
J. R. Lindermuth
http://www.jrlindermuth.com
Wild Oak Westerns (Oak Tree Press)
http://www.oaktreebooks.com
March 2011
ISBN# 978-1-61009-011-7
Paperback (also available as e-book)
174 Pages
$12.95


Material supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2012

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in 1897 Pennsylvania, Fallen From Grace jumps right into the action-packed story. Sheriff Sylvester Tilghman enjoys his laid-back career in Arahpot. His routine is disrupted by the murder of a recent arrival to the small town. Much of his investigation centers around a house of ill repute. He befriends the ladies, but his affection is securely set on Lydia, who is independent, employed as a shopkeeper, and taking her sweet time answering his repeated requests for her hand in marriage. As the story raced to a conclusion, I wondered how Lindermuth would tie up all the loose ends. The mystery does come to a satisfying end. I enjoyed this entertaining historical mystery.

[Carl Brookins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is a nice cozy, mystery, a small-town Western. Well-written, carefully peopled with both usual and unusual characters, it offers a very pleasant afternoon. The novel is available in various formats from Amazon and other outlets.
I identify “Fallen From Grace” as a Western, although it is set in territory well east of the Mississippi River. Pennsylvania coal country is within shouting distance of the small town of Arahpot where Sheriff Syl Tilghman keeps the peace, romantically yearns for a local woman, and solves the occasional puzzle.
He’s awakened to an inexplainable murder. The dead man and the circumstances seem to have almost no real connection to the town or its cast of characters, so the plot thickens rapidly. Author Lindermuth draws a variety of characters one might expect to find, were we transported back to the end of the nineteenth century just before the appearance of the automobile on the dusty roads of the county. The characters fit the time, the pace is likewise and we find the sheriff to be a careful alert bachelor with his romantic eye on a local shopkeeper.
This is a novel for an evening or three beside a warm fireplace and the solution will satisfy any reader of murder mysteries populated with the kind of people we encounter nearly every day in our regular lives.