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Learn moreWhen Cherokee burial remains are unearthed on the site of a local cemetery's expansion, Barry Clayton, part-time deputy and full-time undertaker, finds his dual occupations colliding. Then, during the interment of the wife of one of Gainesboro's most prominent citizens, Cherokee activist Jimmy Panther leads a protest. Words and fists fly.
When Panther turns up executed on the grave of the deceased woman, Barry is forced to confront her family as the chief suspects. But the case lurches in a new direction with the arrival of Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins' army pal, Boston detective Kevin Malone. Malone is on the trail of a Boston hit man who arrived at the Cherokee reservation only days before the murder. Malone is convinced his quarry is the man who pulled the trigger. But who paid him? And why?
The investigation draws Barry onto the reservation where Jimmy Panther's efforts to preserve Cherokee traditions threatened the development of a new casino, a casino bringing millions of dollars of construction and substantial yearly payouts to every member of the tribe. With the unlikely team of his childhood nemesis Archie Donovan and his elderly Uncle Wayne, Barry goes undercover in an effort to draw out the truth. But the stakes are higher than he realized—and the life of a Cherokee boy becomes the wager. Barry must play his cards very carefully in his riskiest undertaking yet.
Mark de Castrique is the author of the Washington, DC, political thriller, The 13th Target, and author of the critically acclaimed Barry Clayton and Sam Blackman mystery series, both set in the mountains of his native North Carolina, and as well as mysteries for young adults. He is a veteran of the television and film production industry and serves as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
William Dufris began his audio career in London, England. He co-found the audio production company The Story Circle, Ltd in the UK. In the US, he founded Mind’s Eye Productions and co-founded Rocky Coast Radio Theatre in addition to The AudioComics Company, for which he is producer, director, actor and engineer. Durfis was nominated six times as a finalist for the APA's prestigious Audie Awards. He garnered eighteen Golden Earphones Awards through AudioFile magazine, which honored him as one of The Best Voices at the End of the Century. Of his work, AudioFile said, "William Dufris commands a dazzling array of voices that bring to life the dozens of audiobooks he’s narrated." His audiobook credits include many of Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen, Ph.D.'s works, such as Days of Infamy and Pearl Harbor, in addition to George McGovern’s Abraham Lincoln, Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon and John Scalzi’s The Ghost Bridges.
Dufris acted on stage and in television and is best known as the original North American voice of the cartoon character Bob in Nickelodeon's popular children's show, Bob the Builder. Additionally, he worked with legendary director Dirk Maggs on his audio drama productions of Spider-Man.
Reviews
“The planned expansion of Heaven’s Gate Gardens, a cemetery outside Gainesboro, NC, causes conflict in de Castrique’s engaging sixth mystery featuring funeral director and deputy sheriff Barry Clayton…The author offers insights into the political, economic, and cultural ramifications of Indian casinos, along with a large cast of believable characters with a wide emotional range.”
“In his sixth outing, ex-cop Barry Clayton, now a part-time deputy and a partner in his family’s North Carolina funeral parlor, is up to his neck in trouble. He’s investigating a case that pits modern casinos against Native American traditions…The focus on the beautiful setting of western North Carolina and its Cherokee traditions is well crafted. While there are a number of other series featuring sleuthing funeral directors, this is a complex and well-executed police procedural as well.”
“Workers involved in expanding the Gainesboro, North Carolina, cemetery discover Cherokee remains, prompting Cherokee activist Jimmy Panther to lead a protest. When Jimmy’s body turns up on a dead woman’s grave the next day, Barry Clayton, Gainesboro deputy sheriff and undertaker, has a murder case on his hands…An agreeable mix of suspense and social issues.”
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