by Sarah Bewley
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.
It’s certainly not uncommon for children to follow in the footsteps of their parents and have a similar, or even the same career path. Law enforcement is no different than any other occupation in this way. Here in Florida, there are some rural counties where the sheriffs have come from the same family for several generations.
In Burning Eden, Jim Sheppard is the son of a sheriff, the grandson of a sheriff, and the great-grandson of a sheriff of Eden County. He grew up with the expectation that he, too, would enter the Sheriff’s Department as a deputy and eventually be elected to the position that had been held by all the patriarchs of his family for generations.
However, Jim Sheppard didn’t want to be sheriff. He didn’t even want to go into law enforcement. He loved history, and his dream was to get his master’s degree and go on to teach history at Eden County High School.
Fate intervened, and yes, he is the Sheriff of Eden County.
He married while at the university. His wife had a baby, a son, and she left Gainesville to drive back to Warren in Eden County. She never made it. She was in an accident on the way and was killed, leaving Jim Sheppard alone with a baby son.
His father offered him a job as a deputy, and his mother offered to help him raise his son, and he found himself on the same career path as all the Sheppard sons.
Now, a fourth-generation sheriff who never wanted the job, he finds himself in a county threatened by wildfires sweeping across Florida, and a case of a missing Pentecostal minister, plus bodies piling up of men with their necks broken.
Sarah Bewley
Jim’s first reaction is to feel he is not qualified to handle the case. He doesn’t love his job. He has no passion for law enforcement. What he does have is a deep love of his home and the people who live there, a devotion to the people who work for him, and a sense of responsibility to do the best he can for all of them.
He follows the rules of investigation, and he asks for help. He talks to the town doctor about medical clues that turn up. The relationships he’s built with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s forensic professionals lend him additional knowledge and ways of investigating the crimes.
Jim Sheppard may have never wanted to be the Sheriff of Eden County, but once he has the job, he is determined to do it well.
To enter to win a copy of Burning Eden (ebook or print winner’s choice), simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “eden” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen September 16, 2023. You must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.
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The cover looks very intriguing! And it sounds really interesting.
Burning Eden sounds like an exciting mystery book. I’d love to win a print copy.