A small town detective is sidelined from the force by a bout of amnesia. This murder mystery is generously peppered with wit and slapstick.
The Eagle Ford Shale is proving to be as productive as a Middle East oil field, and Willy Mraznik is hell-bent on getting his share. An independent wildcatter, Willy punches holes in the ground up and down the Peach Creek valley using second-rate machinery won in a poker game.
When a drilling hand goes missing, detective Buddy McCoy stumbles onto evidence of a crime, and Willy becomes the prime suspect. As the investigation develops, Buddy’s allegiance is challenged and the detective becomes the target of suspicion from police and criminals alike.
Set against the backdrop of modern-day Texas oil exploration, Peach Creek is a story about a man who fights for his share of the treasure and those who become entangled in his quest for wealth. From the author of Briarcliff Lane, Peach Creek explores the sinister side of the fictional residents of small town Gonzales.
Excerpt
Grains of dirt pummeled his eyes. It would have hurt like hell, had he been alive. Another shovelful covered his face completely. Willy Mraznik wondered how deeply into the man’s nostrils the soil penetrated. He imagined worms and ants making their way through the nose and ears and mouth and into the body’s cavity. They would gnaw on sinewy muscles and tear through arteries to suck out corpuscles; blood that would sustain their lives just as it had maintained the man’s life — until it had abruptly ended a few hours earlier, that is.
Willy thought about the odds; the odds of being caught in the act, the odds of this makeshift grave being discovered before grass grew to conceal it, the odds that the next shovel of soil would contain an earthworm — a worm that could speed the deconstruction of the human form lying beneath him.
Should I have removed his clothes first? He wondered. He plunged his spade into a mound and knelt beside the shallow grave. He grabbed the waist of the dead man’s pants and rolled the body toward him, feeling the back pocket for a wallet. There was none. Willy pushed the body in the other direction and located his prize. The wallet was the kind that folded once. It was black and was made of finely-tooled gator skin. He pocketed it.
The man’s belt buckle reflected rays from the midday sun. It was large and silver and was engraved with an image of horses and the insignia of a ranch. A ranch he’d bought from Willy. A ranch filled with grazing horses. A ranch that sported a riding arena, a hot walker and other implements of his wife’s trade. She was a horse trainer. She was the subject of Willy’s unrelenting lust. And now, she was a widow.
Willy removed the belt and tossed it aside. He stood, wiped his brow with a shirt sleeve and resumed his chore. Another clump of dirt burst onto the man’s chest, disintegrating into hundreds of crumbs and thousands of particles. Scoop after scoop, Willy worked with a steady, pump jack rhythm. Adrenaline twisted his stomach as it fueled his progress and he imagined one day trying to persuade a jury to show lenience. There was no way they would prove he’d killed the man. He was merely interring the body, he’d tell them. And once they understood his reasons for this desperate act, surely they would be merciful.
He repeatedly thrust the shovel into the dirt pile and transferred its contents to conceal the right femur, the left femur, the shins, the feet. He thrust his implement into the pile again and stood back, out of breath. He turned and reached for a bottle resting atop a nearby tombstone. It perspired in the Texas heat every bit as much as Willy did. He brought it to his lips and took a swallow.
What are the odds something like this would happen on a Sunday? He speculated. One in seven, of course. Good thing it had, as it meant everyone was at church or enjoying a restaurant meal afterward. That, in turn, reduced the chance that someone might see him here. Few worked on Sunday, especially in Gonzales, Texas. This was the heart of the Bible belt where every God-fearing Christian honored the Sabbath. Willy was not one of them.
Willy Mraznik was a burly man of forty-two whose forearms had the girth of most men’s thighs and whose neck was every bit as wide as his shoulders. While his midsection sported a tad more insulation than needed, his arms and legs were each a solid mass of hydraulic power. The kind of power one needed to command the respect of and maintain control over drudges on a drilling rig.
Oil was to South Central Texas what silicon was to Southern California. The Eagle Ford Shale was proving to be as productive as a Middle East oil field and Willy was hell-bent on getting his share. He was a scrapper, a wildcatter, an independent explorer punching holes in the ground up and down the Peach Creek valley on land he’d finagled the mineral rights to and with second-rate machinery he’d won in a poker game.
“I’m gonna be a millionaire, boys,” he would say. “I’m gonna be a millionaire.”
Professional Reviews
Pacific Book Review
Reviewed by Suzanne Gattis, Pacific Book Review
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. 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’ 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 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.”
Readers Favorite
Reviewed by Brenda Ballard for Readers Favorite
The book is set in the once sleepy town of Gonzales, where a mystery is soon to jolt the community in a way it has never known. Dirt poor farmers have become suddenly rich from oil deposits on their property. Greed rears its very ugly head and Willy is not the least of those who are driven by the money. When his employee, Nick, is found to be missing, the town detective is on the trail. Buddy doesn't let being on medical leave get in his way. Nor does he let getting fired for his mishaps and non-conventional behavior stop him. He has set out to give Nick's widow closure and nothing will keep him from that promise.
I love the setting of this book. It is easy to visualize once bovine-filled pastures now host to steel skeletons drilling into the earth. The story line is one that is realistic and down-home in feel. The reader will have no problem sinking into the plot twists and the finale. I found the characters to be the next-door variety: completely believable. The author has a gift when it comes to moving the plot along seamlessly, allowing the reader no choice but to read from cover to cover. You will not put this book down; I guarantee it! Be sure to have a tub of popcorn and a few beverages nearby because the mere thought of having to close the book will make you grit your teeth!
Mama's Book Corner
Reviewed by Leigh Ann Harlan
When a man goes missing, detective Buddy McCoy is determined to fit all the pieces together and solve the crime but ends up turning into a suspect himself. Will he be able to find out what happened and keep himself out of trouble or will it remain a mystery?
I was interested in reading this book as soon as I read the description. I like murder/mystery books and I've never read one that was set in the oilfield. My fiance has worked on drilling rigs for many years so I knew I had to give this book a shot. I'm not sure how accurate all of the drilling rig descriptions were, I'd have to have my honey read it, but you can tell that the author has done a lot of research or has quite a bit of knowledge in that area.
This novel has so many twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. The conclusion actually surprised me which I was happy about because I can normally predict the ending of this type of book. I was also laughing throughout the entire book which is rare for a murder/mystery story which made it all the better for me. I found it to be very humorous, especially Buddy and his amnesia! *hehe*
I have not read volumes 1 or 2 so I can't compare this book to them but I really liked this one! I definitely look forward to reading more by this author.
Willa Goodheart, honest and hard-working white collar worker finds herself connected to a police investigation for a serial killer; and she hasn't a clue why - that is, until she begins digging.
Revenge is Fun series. Publisher Vinny Vitali deserves to be whacked, but for some reason he's like a cat with 9 lives. He's holding a mob widow's memoir hostage and the authors want to kill him, but he won't die.
