by Sandra Murphy

Details on how to win a copy of the book at the end of this review, along with a link to purchase the book where a portion goes to help support KRL.

Judge Phil Grayson has been found dead in his study, not just dead but murdered–and with an antique hood formerly used by executioners covering his head. The Judge collects ghoulish Old West memorabilia. The collection is valuable, but nothing’s been stolen so what is the motive? Of course a judge will have a lot of enemies and one of Grayson’s has just been released from prison. During his sentencing, he threatened to make the Judge sorry.
Now Darin Keefe is a hard man to find.

There was a scandal involving the city government and everyone, including the jury, thought Keefe was behind it. Another suspect, who was the Judge’s best friend, hung himself from the railroad overpass. It was said that he couldn’t stand the shame or jail time.

Sheriff Jeff McQuede has the job of finding the killer before he strikes again. Trent Harwood, son of the suicide victim, seems beyond close to the Judge’s family including his trophy wife, Maureen. Barry Dawson, professor and friend of the Judge, wants to help and will, allowed or not. His own investigation is loud, reckless and almost gets him killed too.

The widow doesn’t seem to be particularly grieved at the Judge’s death. It’s said she’s been “unwell” of late, meaning anything from hypochondria to a drinking problem or more. It’s up to McQuede to find the killer by learning more about the Judge’s life, and that includes his marriage.

McQuede’s kind-of-girlfriend is teaching a series of classes about the town’s history and its families. The first class is called Vigilante Justice which seems appropriate, given the circumstances of the Judge’s death. The class is also a means to try to figure out what’s going on with Loris because she’s been unavailable lately and vague about the reasons why.

The story revolves around relationships of all kinds–business, friendships, love affairs, marriages and perhaps most importantly, the relationship between who has the power and who doesn’t. Luckily, McQuede is up to the challenge of sorting it all out.

McQuede is a character that would make anybody feel safe and secure. Barry Dawson, is a good friend but you’d just want to smack him for being careless with his life. The Judge? He, like everyone else, was a mixture of good and bad—the question is, which got him killed?

Loretta Jackson and Vickie Britton are sisters and co-authors of more than forty books, all set in lonely, rugged, mountain areas, like Wyoming and Colorado.

To enter to win a copy of The Executioner’s Hood simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Hood,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen September 27, 2014. U.S. residents only.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & short stories in our mystery section. You can also find some short stories there written by Jan.

Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL:

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the arch, in the land of blues, booze and shoes—St Louis, Missouri. While writing magazine articles to support her mystery book habit, she secretly polishes two mystery books of her own, hoping, someday, they will see the light of Barnes and Noble. You can also find several of Sandra’s short stories on UnTreed Reads including her new one Bananas Foster.