Part of the Briarcliff Lane series, Adler Duncan’s Peach Creek explores the more sinister side of small town Gonzales,Texas as mystery and murder unfold.Click here  Having grown up in a small town in Texas myself, also a town once wealthy with oil money, the geographical location and the overall description of Gonzales’s residents resonated with me as a reader.  An interesting ensemble of characters is scattered throughout the book, showing the reader the many facets of this small community.

After the drilling hand goes missing, the search is on to find out what happened to Nick Knox. Many think that his disappearance is normal; after all, they say, men do tend to run off but usually return. His frantic wife brings in the help of Detective Buddy McCoy, who is currently on disability from an unfortunate accident. Truth be told, unfortunate accidents tend to follow McCoy wherever he goes, and this amnesia stricken but good-hearted detective is the comic relief of this murder mystery. Where he goes, disaster follows.

Opposite of this good-intentioned man is the wildcatter Willy Mraznik, who trouble also follows but because of his own creation.  He lies, he cheats, he gambles, and he drinks the wrong kind of beer; he’s an easy man to distrust. It’s easy to suspect this villain from the beginning, all the while knowing it would just be too easy to end the story with him.

With disappearances, murder, unmarked graves, a supernatural looking creature (aka a dressed up dog), and a kidnapping, the reader never knows what twist or turn will happen next. Just when you think you the mystery has unfolded, another chapter comes.  All along, you navigate these surprises and twists with characters that you love and ones that you love to hate.

Both historical references and the vivid descriptions of life in the oil fields show that this book was well researched and the setting well planned out. Duncan is able to set up a twist in the story and follow through with it.  With suspense and a laugh around every corner, this book is an easy to read page turner.

Peach Creek is a ‘good-ole time’ and could easily be enjoyed by all, sitting on the porch swing, eating peanut butter cookies and drinking a Shiner Bock, the “only beer worth drinking.”