Countdown

by Frederick Ramsay

It's 1928, Jesse Sutherlin now has his own family and has made a success at the sawmill below Virginia's Buffalo Mountain working for JG Edwards. The country's economy is booming. And then David Privette, the sheriff who succeeded Dalton P. Franklin with whom Jesse had a run-in or two in Copper Kettle , arrives with surprising news - the body of Jesse's father has just been discovered in the pit at Smith's West Oxford Street ice house operation. How could this be? In 1918 a man had brought the family the news that Sutherlin, Sr., had died of the Spanish flu while seeking work up in Norfolk, Virginia.
Sheriff Privette doesn't take a deep interest in this cold crime, but Jesse is not letting it go. The body has been found with a money belt fat with fifty dollars, a small fortune. Twenty of the seventy dollars that Sutherlin Sr. was carrying is missing. So is his heirloom watch given to him for "thirty years' service in the AM and O Railroad which is now the Norfolk and Western. It was gold and big as an onion." What happened to the money and to "the Onion"? Was all this the work of a thief? Who was the man who showed up at the Sutherlins' door? There's not much to work with. But that won't stop Jesse who investigates as the 1928 boom progresses relentlessly toward 1929.
"Eight years after Copper Kettle we drop in on Jesse Sutherlin and his wife Serena, plagued by murders old and new beneath the advancing shadow of the Great Depression. Plot, characters, voice all still at that same gold standard Ramsay set from first book to this, his last." --Dana Stabenow, bestselling author of the Kate Shugak Series

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction

166 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 3, 2018

About the author

Dr. Frederick Ramsay was born in Baltimore, the son of a respected teacher researcher and scientist. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in Virginia and received his doctorate from the University of Illinois. After a stint in the Army, he joined the faculty of the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, where he taught Anatomy, Embryology and Histology; engaged in research and served as an Associate Dean. During this time he also pursued studies in theology and in 1971 was ordained an Episcopal priest.

Leaving academia, he tried his hand at a variety of vocations. At one time or another, he served as a Vice President for Public Affairs, worked as an insurance salesman, a tow man and line supervisor at Baltimore’s BWI airport, a community college instructor, and substitute. Finally, he accepted a full time position as a clergyman.

He is now retired from full-time ministry and writes fiction.

Dr. Ramsay is the author of several scientific and general articles, tracts, theses, and co-author of The Baltimore Declaration. He is an iconographer, an accomplished public speaker and once hosted a television spot, Prognosis, on the evening news for WMAR-TV, Baltimore. He currently lives in Surprise, Arizona with his wife and partner, Susan.

Reviews

[Patrick Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometime ago I thoroughly enjoyed the Ike Schwartz series by this author.
Equally I am enjoying this new character, Jesse Sutherlin, if for no other reason than these stories detail a time in American history which is largely ignored. The murder mystery is central to the story but Mr Ramsay brings the time and the place and the people to life creating a full bodied, colorful backdrop to the story.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the back country not long before the world financial crash and the ensuing Depression, a long dead body is found and some really unusual questions arise. It was a time when schooling took a back seat to making enough money to survive, so folks were lucky to finish the third grade. Intelligence has little to do with the opportunity to gain reading skills, and the ability to recognize clues and draw conclusions while staying safe are necessary for survival. The tale is intense and the characters are memorable.
Many thanks to NetGalley for granting my request for a free review copy.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten years after the death of their father from Spanish flu in 1918, Sheriff David Privette comes to inform Jesse Sutherlin, that the body of their long dead father has been discovered in an ice house. Jesse is determined to solve this mystery with the support of his clever wife Serena.
Overall an enjoyable read, a slow paced story and I did like Serena the best, among the varied and likeable characters.
A NetGalley Book

[Sandybear76]

set in VA in 1928