The Sheriff

by Charles Hirsch

A burned-out sheriff in a rural New England county, nearing retirement, has an odd thought that his days on earth are numbered, that death is closing in quickly. He can't figure out why the thought is there, why he's thinking that way, after all he's only sixty years old and in good shape. A series of weird crimes confront him, challenging him at a time he feels most vulnerable. Eventually, assisted by a reliable deputy and a young, heavily-tattooed, former drug-running woman, the mysteries deepen. The clues are few and far between, the violence vicious and seemingly unwarranted. Eventually things slip out of control, until a small, seemingly unimportant detail surfaces that brings into focus what might be happening. Filled with exciting action, great dialogue and a very real sense of place, this book offers much for the mystery and action lover. And, at only 213 pages, it's a fast, exciting read, a "two-nighter," or perfect for a vacation read.

178 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 17, 2017

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Robert Peck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Storey

Well reasoned and suspenseful story located in rural New England. The setting enriches the story a lot. And the characters are human, not heroic.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Nice Read!!

I really enjoyed the fast paced story about Karl, an end of his career, former Boston detective who after he's severely injured is retired but feels like he's not done yet. He becomes a small time sheriff. He's quickly drawn into a drug case and stolen art case. As we'll as multiple murders, including a guy eaten by his own dogs. This poor guy, his wife's left him and took everything. You find yourself rooting for him. I would like to see this in a short series of books. Nicely Done 😎

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corruption

Sheriff Karl is feeling like there is something bad going to happen to him and that maybe it is time to retire.
When dead bodies start showing up in the woods and people are trying to kill him everything points to drugs.
A good tale of the drug world and how it is very evil. I enjoyed this book.

[Janice Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really a good book to read, it has a little bit of everything. I love crime mysteries, and this is one of those books where you just want to keep reading until the very end. Karl, is a former Boston detective who retires after he gets badly injured. Just when he though he was done with detective work, he returns. Once he moves up to New Hampshire, he takes the position in a small town as Sheriff. This causes his wife to divorce him and she returns to Boston with their two boys. What first peeked my interested most was when the poor dead cat was found in the house. I immediately wanted to know what had happen or took place. I liked that the sheriff cared enough to investigate exactly what had happen. As more murders appeared I was even more curious to get to the bottom of it all. This wasn't an easy case to solve, It was hard for the New England county sheriff especially since he was up in age. Even with no suspects, evidence or leads to go on, he didn't give up and did his job well as best he could do. Mysteries deepen even more when a young tattooed, former druggie female enters the picture making things more complicated for the sheriff and his deputy. There so much that takes place in this mystery thriller storyline like solving the case of the stolen art case, the multiple murders, and the poor guy who gets eaten by his own dogs, and the cat case especially plus more. The book has some foul language but it comes with the storyline script just like it would in any movie. I as blown away at the end and enjoyed reading this book. The ending has a satisfying closure. Recommend book to crime, mystery lovers.

[D. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A JMG. Mystery Thriller/An Ex Boston Lawman Takes A Job As Sheriff in a Small town

JMG. has. penned a mystery thriller, which begins with a perfectly good home blowing up. The Sheriff and his Deputy are almost killed and the Deputy discovers that people are dead who should be dead.
The Sheriff's conscience, hairs on his neck, keep telling him that what ever happened will never things will never be the same. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS

[Michael McGaulley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great new author find!

Author moves the story fast; just enough in each chapter to make the scene and the story action , not that inundation of TMW ( Too Many Words). Credible characters —— the kind of folks that you’d encounter in a small New England town. That is … the kind of people and town before the drug wave

[Rachelle Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty Good

This was my first murder mystery in a while. I liked the bones of the book and the story was pretty entertaining. The ending could have been better, but I would recommend the book.

[Warner Shows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. Well written.

Straight forward plotting. Suspense. A good example for aspiring writers. Recommended for young and mature adults. I plan to read more of this author's work.

[Jacquelyn Rother · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read! The plot moved fast, Exciting with humor thrown in. There was some romance but not too much to make it “icky”.

There was some romance but not too much to make it “icky”. I will definitely like to read more from this author.

[John Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the Old States

Great change of pace after all the other type of lawyer books I have read recently..Enjoyed every minute . Hope to read more like it. Good job John McGauley. Congratulations will there be more like The Sheriff?

[Mark Dappen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining little tale with out super hero lawyers/ cops/ secret agents/ and/ or other outlandish people and with out unbelievable coincidences. This book is simply a well written story about an older man doing his job and living his life realistically.

[Jane C. Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sheriff. By John McGauley

Some old time Sheriff's liked to do things the same old way!! This Sheriff was no different. He liked helping people and investigating thoroughly when needed. A good real !

[Shirley Montoya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprised ending finished in one read love it !

I found not stop reading finished while waiting for flight and while flying. This book was a nail biter, every time I thought I knew who I was wrong I loved this book! Surprise ending .

[Lorie Wieser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read!

Not a typical "too much information" mystery . A good twist in the end. Recommend if you're retired of all the predictable mysteries.
Will definitely look for more McCauley books.

[Glenn T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really liked this book. Superb story and written in a style that was so easy to read. I really liked the characters and there was some good surprises. I wish the author would write a book two to this series. But it doesn't look like there's going to be one.

[Howard Katzoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly interesting!

I wasn't immediately taken with this story but it soon turned into an interesting "who done it". Well worth reading!!

[Kerins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reading,.

I have enjoyed the supence of all John McGauley 's books. A talented writer. Keep up the good work. Bravo.n

[Beverly J. Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprise from start to finish!

I like a book that moves, and this book keeps moving, it kept my interest from start to finish. The finish was definitely a surprise.

[Lawanda Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

Enough twists that you can't guess the ending. I couldn't put it down. For the money, it was a good read.

[Amy Hancheck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read

Interesting characters. Good plot. Overall good read. Kind of gory. Alittle difficult to follow when so many pronouns were used.

[John Bordenet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharp

McCauley's books are always fun. They are like eating cake. I wish he would number his chapters.
His good guys always have sense of humor.

[Sally Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

Keep you guessing until the end. Had hard work to put it down and not to look ahead to see the ending

[george · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the book

Terrific book. The mystery held me to the top quick ending. The story was cool. I'll read more of McGauly's books.

[Danny Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reading

Just happened on this book by accident and was actually pretty good. My kind of material, police mystery, reads pretty easy

[Melody J Hensel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Had me all in . Good story line. Very captivating story. If you like mystery. McNally has it dialed in.

[Deborah L Wadsworth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary below

Ok story Too much use of the word f*** word. Totally not necessary as it adds nothing to the story

[Jillian Armistead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read

A quick read. Kind of predictable. I liked the story but wish there was a little more closure at the end.

[Abibliofob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read The Sheriff by John McGauley or Charles Hirsch. I really love these small town stories and am glad I found this one, it is really well written. I will surely read more by this author.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it an enjoyable read. I wouldn't mine continuing the story.

[Peter R. Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good yarn!

I enjoyed this story. An easy read. The sheriff a comfortable lead. Ended without a lot of draw out. Final scene satisfying. Hope there is a sequel.