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The Colby Tate Mysteries #5
Final Edition: A Colby Tate Mystery
When the Tuesday morning edition of the Crayton Daily News fails to reach the breakfast tables at LeeAnn's Diner by 6:30 a.m. as it has for the past forty years, Ozarks Sheriff Colby Tate finds himself investigating the death of the paper's eccentric owner and publisher, Maury Shobe. Unprinted plates of the biweekly suggest the newsman was preparing to break two headline stories, one that would ruin an influential businessman and a major community development project, and one with critical details yet to be revealed. While Tate and new wife, Police Chief Grace Torres, wade through a mire of Shobe family squabbles and county disputes to determine who might want the publisher dead, two hunters discover the remains of a newborn baby girl hidden off a trail in the Missouri woods. Tate's newest deputy, Brooke Beckett, is assigned to lead the child murder investigation, forcing the young officer to confront a dark secret from her own past.
With Tate challenged in an upcoming election by another deputy in his department, Beckett begins to openly question whether her boss is as tough on crime as he needs to be to lead. Her concern becomes a campaign issue when, only weeks before the election, clues lead Tate and Grace into Canada's maritime provinces on what his rival claims is a taxpayer-funded junket.
Who Murdered Maury Shobe and the forgotten baby in the Mark Twain Forest? Will the answers cost Tate the election and be the Ozarks sheriff's own final edition?
Though written as a stand-alone mystery, fans of Colby Tate will find "Final Edition" a satisfying and suspense-filled next step in this down-home mystery series.
With Tate challenged in an upcoming election by another deputy in his department, Beckett begins to openly question whether her boss is as tough on crime as he needs to be to lead. Her concern becomes a campaign issue when, only weeks before the election, clues lead Tate and Grace into Canada's maritime provinces on what his rival claims is a taxpayer-funded junket.
Who Murdered Maury Shobe and the forgotten baby in the Mark Twain Forest? Will the answers cost Tate the election and be the Ozarks sheriff's own final edition?
Though written as a stand-alone mystery, fans of Colby Tate will find "Final Edition" a satisfying and suspense-filled next step in this down-home mystery series.
230 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 28, 2022
8 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Allen Kent
24 books35 followersAllen Kent is the author of the popular “Unit 1” thriller series, the Whitlock Trilogy in historical fiction, and a number of other mysteries and action novels. His books are published in electronic form by Kindle Press and in paperback by AllenPearce Publishers. He lives and writes in rural southwest Missouri.
Kent is a former Air Force pilot and educator who spent four years of his early life living in Iran and England. He has traveled and worked extensively in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia – experiences that are often reflected in his writing.
Writing as Kent Farnsworth, Kent has also published two works of non-fiction: “Grassroots School Reform” and “Leadership as Service.”
He and his wife Holly are avid travelers, gardeners, and conservationists, and live in an eco-friendly home near the community of Neosho.
See: https://www.amazon.com/Allen-Kent/e/B...
Kent is a former Air Force pilot and educator who spent four years of his early life living in Iran and England. He has traveled and worked extensively in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia – experiences that are often reflected in his writing.
Writing as Kent Farnsworth, Kent has also published two works of non-fiction: “Grassroots School Reform” and “Leadership as Service.”
He and his wife Holly are avid travelers, gardeners, and conservationists, and live in an eco-friendly home near the community of Neosho.
See: https://www.amazon.com/Allen-Kent/e/B...
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 27, 2022
Another very good installment in the Colby Tate series. I really enjoy the feel of the Ozarks and SW Missouri that Kent evokes in his writing. The setting in these books is so authentic and the characters are so realistic one might expect to bump into them walking around the square in downtown. The added suspense of the pending election for sheriff heightened the story and made the mystery even more urgent. The interaction between the characters added depth to the story and made for compelling reading. Who would kill the beloved editor of the local paper? Who benefits from his death? And as the investigation proceeds the stories in the final edition of the paper begin to intertwine and complicate the investigation. Add a deputy who wants Tate's job and another deputy who has opted to resign and we have to wonder will Tate be able to solve the mystery and save his job. A great read!
September 9, 2022
Final Edition: Hopefully not the last boot
As usual Allen Kent writes an entertaining book. We have followed Colby Tate for a while now and Mr Kent entertain us with his storytelling and his subtle ways of showing us how everything is not black or white but there are shades of gray. Can’t wait for the next book.
As usual Allen Kent writes an entertaining book. We have followed Colby Tate for a while now and Mr Kent entertain us with his storytelling and his subtle ways of showing us how everything is not black or white but there are shades of gray. Can’t wait for the next book.
September 4, 2022
There are some interesting twists and turns in this novel, which also highlights realistically life in a small rural town during an election cycle. Although the danger to the character, Colby Tate, is less intense in this story, the events seem to be ripped from the headlines. It's a good read.
September 12, 2022
Required reading
Another one hit out of the park by Allen Kent. Kent's Colby Tate series continues to mature and grow richer with each new volume. Well done!
Another one hit out of the park by Allen Kent. Kent's Colby Tate series continues to mature and grow richer with each new volume. Well done!
April 7, 2025
Kindle Unlimited
FINAL EDITION is #5 in the Colby Tate Mysteries and the final novel in the Colby Tate Mysteries: Books 1-5. I am sorry to see the last of this series - I thoroughly enjoy everything Allen Kent has shared with us, and look forward to many more works from this talented storyteller. And we have in Final Edition a tying up of the problems and mysteries of this series. We struggle through with the regulars as the last edition of the local paper is not published, and life as they know it stumbles to a slow crawl as the murder of Clayton's persnickety newspaper editor is now the focus of all local law enforcement. There will even be inquiries into Canada on this one. The settling of the situation is very well done, however, and we will leave Clayton, MO with a contented smile.
REVIEWED on March 31, 2025, at Goodreads, and AmazonSmile Not available at B&N, BookBub, or Kobo.
FINAL EDITION is #5 in the Colby Tate Mysteries and the final novel in the Colby Tate Mysteries: Books 1-5. I am sorry to see the last of this series - I thoroughly enjoy everything Allen Kent has shared with us, and look forward to many more works from this talented storyteller. And we have in Final Edition a tying up of the problems and mysteries of this series. We struggle through with the regulars as the last edition of the local paper is not published, and life as they know it stumbles to a slow crawl as the murder of Clayton's persnickety newspaper editor is now the focus of all local law enforcement. There will even be inquiries into Canada on this one. The settling of the situation is very well done, however, and we will leave Clayton, MO with a contented smile.
REVIEWED on March 31, 2025, at Goodreads, and AmazonSmile Not available at B&N, BookBub, or Kobo.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews