Blood on the Cimarron: An Oklahoma Mystery($11.99Value)

Description

Claire Northcutt discovers she and her family are caught in the crosshairs of a vengeance-seeking murderer after she finds wild mustang rescue ranch owner J.B. Floren slashed to death on his Cimarron River ranch.The bloody scene reactivates her post traumatic stress; she killed a stalker who invaded her home years ago.The rancher's murder investigation soon focuses on her nephew, Denver, a horse trainer and Afghanistan veteran. Her teenage son, Cade, is certain of Denver's innocence.Claire struggles to keep it together and keep the attentions of her neighbor Holt Braden at arm's length after Denver is arrested for drugs; the police seem intent on charging him with the murder as well.Operating with hypervigilance, Claire digs deeper into the rancher's mustang rescue operation, uncovering possible motives for his murder and a silent partner. When Denver's girlfriend is badly beaten soon after Denver is released on bail, Claire's fears for her family intensify. Claire has attracted another stalker.The clock is ticking. Amazon verified reviews from Mary Coley's books: "I want to read more by this author!""The author is good at her craft and I look forward to reading more of her work.""Appealing and well-developed characters, a plot with lots of twists and turns and attention to detail make for a satisfying and enjoyable read." Winner of the Tony Hillerman Award for Fiction: Blood on the Cimarron by Mary Coley.Presented at the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards in Albuquerque, NM, November 2018. Chosen from over 1000 books entered in this annual award contest. Writing Blood on the Cimarron took me back to my college days at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK. Plus, it's the area where my father was born and raised and where my grandparents lived for seventy years.   I drew from my experiences enjoying nature at family property in that area, as well as my five years of experience as a small town newspaper reporter to create the world of this book, as well as the experiences of Claire Northcutt.   The Cimarron Valley Rescue Ranch was created in my mind after learning that there are several ranches in this region which provide temporary homes for mustangs and burros relocated from western states, where they run wild on public land. As far as I know, all of these are legitimate operations, providing refuge for the animals and holding regular 'sales' so they can find new 'forever' homes.  Journalist Claire Northcutt arrives at J.B. Floren's Oklahoma Mustang Rescue Ranch to interview the rancher. Instead, she finds his mutilated body. As she works to finish the article, lauding J.B.'s achievements, Claire discovers many people disliked the rancher, including her nephew, Denver, and her teenage son, Cade. Soon, Denver is the only suspect in the rancher's murder, and Claire's reputation is on the line. As she tries to unravel the truth about both the rancher's life and his death, a serial rapist terrorizes Stillwater. Her own PTSD flares up; she hs attracted the attention of another stalker whose MO is similar to the stalker she killed three years before. Can Claire learn the truth before it's too late? Mary Coley is a native Oklahoman, where she has worked as a naturalist, journalist, environmental educator and communications officer. An award-winning writer, Coley has twice been named a Creative Woman of Oklahoma, and has been a finalist in the Oklahoma Book Awards and a two-time finalist in the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards. Blood on the Cimarron is her fifth novel. She has also written a nonfiction environmental education book for children and numerous education curriculums. Coley lives in Tulsa and in Santa Fe, New Mexico.