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Josie Gray Mysteries #6
The Drummers
Police Chief Josie Gray's life is complicated when
sparks and bullets begin to fly after
her small town in Texas is overrun by a community wishing to live "off grid."
The residents of the small town of Artemis are suspicious when a community called The Drummers moves into a local abandoned church. Their leader, Gideon, claims their aim is simple: to live peacefully off the grid without government interference. But when local power substations are sabotaged and the whole of West Texas loses electricity, all fingers point to them.
Forced to intervene, Police Chief Josie Gray and her team try to enter the church only for gunshots to be exchanged. Inside the church one young girl is killed, with Gideon claiming Josie's stray bullet hit her.
Was Josie responsible? Did one of The Drummers murder the girl and use Josie as a patsy? Were The Drummers responsible for the power outage? As Josie identifies an ever-widening pool of suspects, she learns of a shocking connection reaching far beyond West Texas.
The residents of the small town of Artemis are suspicious when a community called The Drummers moves into a local abandoned church. Their leader, Gideon, claims their aim is simple: to live peacefully off the grid without government interference. But when local power substations are sabotaged and the whole of West Texas loses electricity, all fingers point to them.
Forced to intervene, Police Chief Josie Gray and her team try to enter the church only for gunshots to be exchanged. Inside the church one young girl is killed, with Gideon claiming Josie's stray bullet hit her.
Was Josie responsible? Did one of The Drummers murder the girl and use Josie as a patsy? Were The Drummers responsible for the power outage? As Josie identifies an ever-widening pool of suspects, she learns of a shocking connection reaching far beyond West Texas.
- GenresMystery
240 pages, Hardcover
Published April 6, 2021
5 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 17, 2021
The last sentence of the book is in the "Acknowledgments":
"...a sincere thank you to Carl Smith and Severn House for bringing Josie back. I knew she wasn't done."
I AGREE!! I've missed Josie Gray, have read all the previous books in the series and this book is great.
Everything is strong in the book, the characters, the plot, the pacing. But what I can't get over is how the events portrayed are so prescient. It's like Tricia Fields was writing about events similar to what have actually occurred in the past few months.
So to Tricia Fields, Carl Smith and Severn House...more Josie please!
"...a sincere thank you to Carl Smith and Severn House for bringing Josie back. I knew she wasn't done."
I AGREE!! I've missed Josie Gray, have read all the previous books in the series and this book is great.
Everything is strong in the book, the characters, the plot, the pacing. But what I can't get over is how the events portrayed are so prescient. It's like Tricia Fields was writing about events similar to what have actually occurred in the past few months.
So to Tricia Fields, Carl Smith and Severn House...more Josie please!
December 19, 2021
A group called the Drummers has moved into to town and Sheriff Josie is concerned. They have odd beliefs and are living in an old church with the windows blacked out. One of the men is seen with a gun as he is a felon it gives them the right to go into the church. Two women are killed and so many secrets come out. A terrifying story about cults.
May 2, 2021
If The Drummers, the most recent Police Chief Josie Gray mystery by Tricia Fields is any guide I would recommend the entire series. In fact, I have already started another one, Midnight Crossing. I love Ms. Fields clear, elegant prose, the depth and dimensionality of her characters, and the plausibility of her stories, sufficiently complex to be real but never arcane or overcomplicated. Josie Gray is an admirable protagonist, wise and principled, but just sufficiently far from perfect. The locations along the Rio Grande in West Texas provide fascinating settings, as down to the dry desert earth as the people.
July 8, 2021
As The Drummers: A Josie Gray Mystery by Tricia Fields begins, it is January in Artemis, Texas, and cold with overcast skies. The cold snap is not something Police Chief Josie Gray or any of the other locals want as they prefer the sunshine and warmth the rugged and of southwest Texas near the Big Bend region normally provides. They want the cold and nasty weather gone. Many of the locals also want the new group known as “The Drummers” to leave.
The group recently brought the church in the heart of the small town, moved in, and made it clear they were not going to socialize much if at all. In recent days, the group has been acting stranger and stranger and the locals are getting increasingly fed up and want them gone. The memory of what happened in Waco decades ago still lingers in the minds of anyone in office and that is certainly true for Chief Gray.
A small group of a little more than twenty people, they are led by a man who now goes by the name of “Gideon.” While he claims they only want to live off the grid and want nothing to do with technology of the United States Government, the locals think they are a dangerous commune at best or a cult at worst. Not only do they have small children in the church when the windows have been painted black and all the outside door knobs and handles have been removed, they have guns. A lot of guns are being stockpiled inside the building and far more than the number of folks living there. Clearly, the group is planning for something big, but what nobody knows.
The last thing Police Chief Josie Gray wants is another Waco style siege and assault in her town. But what The Drummers want is unknown as signs indicate more and more that they might be some sort of Doomsday type group bent on creating havoc. The fact that they can identify one member who has a warrant for charges means they have that legal way to enter. Unfortunately, gunfire erupts, a member of The Drummers is killed, and what starts as a local issue quickly escalates with ramifications across our entire country.
Complicated and enjoyable as ever, this book marks a long awaited return of Police Chief Josie Gray and the good folks of Artemis, Texas. Much like author Bill Crider, Terry Shames, and Frank F. Havill did in their books, author Tricia Fields built an entire series on a fictional place that is very real to the reader. In this series, family and relationships as well as characters that evolve and change from book to book are just as important as the mystery case is in the read. It has been far too long since Midnight Crossing was published and this reader is very thankful that seven house brought readers back to the Southwest desert country of Texas via Police Chief Josie Gray. As always, a love of the land and the people that reside there comes through as does another very good mystery that packs in quiet a few surprises along the way. Highly recommended as is the series.
The Drummers: A Josie Gray Mystery
Tricia Fields
http://www.triciafields.com/
Severn House
http://severnhouse.com/
March 2021
ISBN # 978-0-7278-9247-8
Hardback (also available in audio and eBook formats)
240 Pages
My reading copy came by way of the Dunbar Branch of the Dallas Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2021
The group recently brought the church in the heart of the small town, moved in, and made it clear they were not going to socialize much if at all. In recent days, the group has been acting stranger and stranger and the locals are getting increasingly fed up and want them gone. The memory of what happened in Waco decades ago still lingers in the minds of anyone in office and that is certainly true for Chief Gray.
A small group of a little more than twenty people, they are led by a man who now goes by the name of “Gideon.” While he claims they only want to live off the grid and want nothing to do with technology of the United States Government, the locals think they are a dangerous commune at best or a cult at worst. Not only do they have small children in the church when the windows have been painted black and all the outside door knobs and handles have been removed, they have guns. A lot of guns are being stockpiled inside the building and far more than the number of folks living there. Clearly, the group is planning for something big, but what nobody knows.
The last thing Police Chief Josie Gray wants is another Waco style siege and assault in her town. But what The Drummers want is unknown as signs indicate more and more that they might be some sort of Doomsday type group bent on creating havoc. The fact that they can identify one member who has a warrant for charges means they have that legal way to enter. Unfortunately, gunfire erupts, a member of The Drummers is killed, and what starts as a local issue quickly escalates with ramifications across our entire country.
Complicated and enjoyable as ever, this book marks a long awaited return of Police Chief Josie Gray and the good folks of Artemis, Texas. Much like author Bill Crider, Terry Shames, and Frank F. Havill did in their books, author Tricia Fields built an entire series on a fictional place that is very real to the reader. In this series, family and relationships as well as characters that evolve and change from book to book are just as important as the mystery case is in the read. It has been far too long since Midnight Crossing was published and this reader is very thankful that seven house brought readers back to the Southwest desert country of Texas via Police Chief Josie Gray. As always, a love of the land and the people that reside there comes through as does another very good mystery that packs in quiet a few surprises along the way. Highly recommended as is the series.
The Drummers: A Josie Gray Mystery
Tricia Fields
http://www.triciafields.com/
Severn House
http://severnhouse.com/
March 2021
ISBN # 978-0-7278-9247-8
Hardback (also available in audio and eBook formats)
240 Pages
My reading copy came by way of the Dunbar Branch of the Dallas Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2021
July 7, 2023
Waco comes to Artemis. Two murders during the siege. The cult, the Drummers, could also be tied to an organized network of right wing crazies destroying power stations. Josie spends an inordinate amount of time trying to find the murderer. Some erroneous assumptions and more questionable judgment displayed. The deployment of Texas Department of Public Safety and Feds wasn’t smooth so that was realistic. One more book to go. Josie seems to be headed towards another life defining decision point- personally and professionally.
May 8, 2021
Thank you for bringing back Josie Gray. She has been missed. I have read all of this series and continue to enjoy the character of Josie Gray. I did not like the conspiracy aspect of this book. Some places in the prose and storyline it was disjointed. However, please continue to bring us more of Josie.
June 7, 2021
It was okay. The mystery was interesting but the overall book just did not hold me.
April 2, 2021
An abandoned church in Artemis has been purchased for one dollar and a commune has taken up residency. They keep to themselves, at first, but still the community complains to Police Chief Josie Gray. Josie attempts to talk to and gain entrance to the church, but the leader, Gideon, seems to have iron control over the members who are called “The Drummers”. When several Drummers cause a problem in town and the power stations are attacked, Josie needs to find out what secrets are held within the church. As she works with the FBI to gain entrance, shots are fired from the church and when they return fire Josie is blamed for killing one of the members. If anyone can put an end to Gideon’s rule, it is Josie Gray with her compassionate yet strong sense of justice. As if the commune isn’t enough, Josie must deal with a new mayor in town and her mother’s problems. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
August 26, 2022
Four solid stars for a well written mystery with multiple suspects. I had 1 killer pegged almost immediately but the other was harder to figure out. Not until the end did it come together.
This book takes place in the fictional town of Artemis, Texas, set in the western desert part of Texas.
Artemis is located next to the Rio Grande river border with Mexico, but it is US people who cause problems for Josie Gray, Police Chief of a 3 person department.
A group of people called "The Drummers" buy an old abandoned church for $1 because the owner wants to get rid of it. They isolate themselves from the community. When vandalism causes a major power blackout, Josie suspects them but doesn't have proof. She finds out that 1 member of the group is on parole and has been seen carrying a gun. When she serves a warrant to arrest him, someone inside the church is shot and the group blame Josie.
Josie does solve the case with the help of her team, the FBI, the community, and local sheriff.
Josie loves the solitude and scenic pleasures of the desert.
One Quote:
"The sky was clear, the temperature was in the thirties. She thought about the areas of the country where cities had adopted policies to lessen light pollution. Looking in all directions, the only light came from Dell's little cabin up the lane."
I read this library book in 3 days. and recommend it to police procedural/mystery fans. This is book 5 in the series, but it would work as a stand alone.. However, events from previous books are referenced in the book so reading them in order is a good idea.
This book takes place in the fictional town of Artemis, Texas, set in the western desert part of Texas.
Artemis is located next to the Rio Grande river border with Mexico, but it is US people who cause problems for Josie Gray, Police Chief of a 3 person department.
A group of people called "The Drummers" buy an old abandoned church for $1 because the owner wants to get rid of it. They isolate themselves from the community. When vandalism causes a major power blackout, Josie suspects them but doesn't have proof. She finds out that 1 member of the group is on parole and has been seen carrying a gun. When she serves a warrant to arrest him, someone inside the church is shot and the group blame Josie.
Josie does solve the case with the help of her team, the FBI, the community, and local sheriff.
Josie loves the solitude and scenic pleasures of the desert.
One Quote:
"The sky was clear, the temperature was in the thirties. She thought about the areas of the country where cities had adopted policies to lessen light pollution. Looking in all directions, the only light came from Dell's little cabin up the lane."
I read this library book in 3 days. and recommend it to police procedural/mystery fans. This is book 5 in the series, but it would work as a stand alone.. However, events from previous books are referenced in the book so reading them in order is a good idea.
November 13, 2021
This was disappointing.
I kept thinking I must have missed reading the previous book in the series, when I hadn’t. At the end of Midnight Crossing, Josie and Nick were together and working on their relationship. In this book, there are just references to the problems they had, but no details. During the crisis Josie encountered in this story, there was no contact from him. This did not jibe with the caring, smart man he was in the previous books. I believe the readers who have been following this series merit some explanation about the breakup. Was he contractually obligated to the previous publisher???
I also kept checking that my book hadn’t been missing any pages (or perhaps chapters). At the end of one chapter, they were dealing with a building full of barricaded people. At the beginning of the next chapter, Voila!, everyone is out and the story continues.
I’m also disappointed by the poor editing. I’ll admit I am easily distracted by errors in spelling and grammar. I don’t mean punctuation errata. In this book, there were multiple misuses of the word “I” as an objective pronoun, i.e. “it occurred to Otto and I”
There was also the misuse of the word “site” instead of the word “cite” as in citing someone for a violation.
This effort, actually, felt like a slapdash effort to wrap up a series.
If this series continues, and I hope it does, I would ask that more care be used in continuity and editing.
I kept thinking I must have missed reading the previous book in the series, when I hadn’t. At the end of Midnight Crossing, Josie and Nick were together and working on their relationship. In this book, there are just references to the problems they had, but no details. During the crisis Josie encountered in this story, there was no contact from him. This did not jibe with the caring, smart man he was in the previous books. I believe the readers who have been following this series merit some explanation about the breakup. Was he contractually obligated to the previous publisher???
I also kept checking that my book hadn’t been missing any pages (or perhaps chapters). At the end of one chapter, they were dealing with a building full of barricaded people. At the beginning of the next chapter, Voila!, everyone is out and the story continues.
I’m also disappointed by the poor editing. I’ll admit I am easily distracted by errors in spelling and grammar. I don’t mean punctuation errata. In this book, there were multiple misuses of the word “I” as an objective pronoun, i.e. “it occurred to Otto and I”
There was also the misuse of the word “site” instead of the word “cite” as in citing someone for a violation.
This effort, actually, felt like a slapdash effort to wrap up a series.
If this series continues, and I hope it does, I would ask that more care be used in continuity and editing.
March 6, 2021
Many thanks to Severn House for putting back Josie Gray & Artemis (TX) on the map after a 5 years hiatus. It has been a great pleasure of mine to follow Tricia Fields wonderful fiction for over 10 years now since The Territory and to follow Ms Gray's adventures in law enforcement along the Rio Grande.
This time around, our genial chief of police has to deal with the arrival in Artemis of a dysfunctional group of people belonging to a community/sect on the move from Idaho and led by a charismatic but deeply flawed leader named Gideon Masters. After moving into an old abandoned church building in the center of town, the group's behavior starts to antagonize the locals until the situation gets out of control....
This is a delightful novel full of the many problems that are plaguing contemporary America today such as conspiracy theories and the fears of homegrown terrorism. A very tight and twisty plot peopled with wonderfully drawn characters made this wonderful novel a very compelling read even if I was a bit disappointed by its shortness. Well Hopefully Severn House will hear my plea and bring back Josie back among us very soon😉👍
Many thanks to Netgalley and Severn House/Canongate for giving the opportunity to read this novel prior to its release date
This time around, our genial chief of police has to deal with the arrival in Artemis of a dysfunctional group of people belonging to a community/sect on the move from Idaho and led by a charismatic but deeply flawed leader named Gideon Masters. After moving into an old abandoned church building in the center of town, the group's behavior starts to antagonize the locals until the situation gets out of control....
This is a delightful novel full of the many problems that are plaguing contemporary America today such as conspiracy theories and the fears of homegrown terrorism. A very tight and twisty plot peopled with wonderfully drawn characters made this wonderful novel a very compelling read even if I was a bit disappointed by its shortness. Well Hopefully Severn House will hear my plea and bring back Josie back among us very soon😉👍
Many thanks to Netgalley and Severn House/Canongate for giving the opportunity to read this novel prior to its release date
March 23, 2021
The arrival of the Drummers, a group led by Gideon, in Artemis, Texas is smooth at first because the group keeps to itself. It does, however, begin to grate on the community and then something happens to the electricity- all of west Texas loses power. Police Chief Josie Gray finds herself in a tight spot, especially when the police raid on on the church where the group is holded up, goes very bad. A young girl is killed, Josie is accused, but not all is what it seems. Fields writes a good topical procedural. There are twists but I liked the characters as much as the plot. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. The last installment in this series was published 5 yeas ago (!) making this almost. standalone unless you have a better memory than I do- but that was ok because it's a great read.
October 13, 2022
I was a Josie behind. I've read all and am currently in #7. The new publisher has opened the door for more great stories
There are several reviews and the description that cover the premise of the plot. Beyond that, Ms. Fields brings real skill. The style is comfortable and quick but the tension under all of it keeps you wondering how things could get worse. The characters are lovable and hateable in turn, but few are ignorable. Even the small parts are fleshed out enough to project a depth that can be explored in the future.
I fully recommend the entire series.
There are several reviews and the description that cover the premise of the plot. Beyond that, Ms. Fields brings real skill. The style is comfortable and quick but the tension under all of it keeps you wondering how things could get worse. The characters are lovable and hateable in turn, but few are ignorable. Even the small parts are fleshed out enough to project a depth that can be explored in the future.
I fully recommend the entire series.
April 14, 2021
Another good story by this author: it's gripping and entertaining.
The tightly knitted plot flows, the mystery is solid and the character are interesting.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
The tightly knitted plot flows, the mystery is solid and the character are interesting.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
July 7, 2023
When a cult moves into a small town things start happening, they move into a church building but the kids are not going to school and they are not working so where is the money coming from. The power stations are shot out and part of west Texas is now without power-are they involved?
July 29, 2021
This was my favorite of the Josie Grey mysteries. Interesting plot.
September 18, 2021
3.5. I almost shelved this book without finishing. The story’s pace for me picked up after the first one third and I also took a day to sit and read.
November 20, 2021
I really liked her earlier books in the series, but this one didn't have as much of Texas desert setting in it, and the story didn't interest me as much.
January 7, 2022
Made it to page 50, but this was very disturbing and life is too short.
May 14, 2022
I love your writing, Tricia! Keep it up. This book kept me engaged the entire time and I always appreciate a “happy” ending!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews