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April 23, 2018
Unforgettable characters lift Ramsay’s sequel to 2017’s Copper Kettle, set in 1928 in Floyd, Va. When Sheriff David Privette tells Jesse Sutherlin, who runs a successful sawmill, that his father’s bludgeoned body has been found under the sawdust in a soon-to-be abandoned ice house, Jesse is stunned, as the family thought that Pa Sutherlin died in 1918 of the Spanish flu in Norfolk. Once the identification is confirmed, Jesse vows to find the killer. His only hope lies in locating the man who told his family in 1918 that his father was dead and locating his father’s distinctive pocket watch, which was not with the body. He gets no help from Privette, who considers the investigation a lost cause, and finds his own life in peril. While unraveling the mystery is fun, the novel’s real pleasure lies in experiencing life—with all its kindnesses, sorrows, and triumphs—through the eyes of Jesse and his astute wife, Serena. Readers new to Ramsay (1936–2017) will want to read his earlier books after finishing this.

May 1, 2018
The late Ramsay's second and last adventure for Jesse Sutherlin (Copper Kettle, 2017) brings his hero home from the Great War to a world unknowingly on the brink of further disaster.Life has been good to Jesse since his homecoming. He and his wife, Serena, have moved down from Virginia's Buffalo Mountain into the neighboring town of Floyd, which boasts a school that goes "clear to the twelfth grade" for their four children. The R.G. Anderson mill where Jesse works is booming, with more orders for hardwood than it can fill. Old man Anderson is looking to retire and has even suggested to Jesse that he might sell at a good price. But Sheriff David Privette brings news that rocks Jesse's world. A body found in the local ice house belongs to Jesse's father, who allegedly died of Spanish flu while Jesse was off fighting in France. In spite of the sheriff's warnings to leave the cold case alone, Jesse asks his remaining family members for more details. His brother, Abel, remembers that the man who brought the news had ill-fitting clothes and a glass eye, leading Jesse to the local shantytown to search for the down-on-his-luck messenger. His search puts him at the wrong end of a Lee and Enfield rifle. In the meantime, Serena goes on a search of her own at the local public library, where she discovers a book on economics. Soon his wife's excursions into debt load and loan-to-value ratio rival Jesse's quest to find his father's killer in promoting the mountain family's awareness of just how dangerous the world can be.Ramsay's final salute to his hero, completed by his friend and admirer Dana Stabenow, is a fitting conclusion to a career spent chronicling the exploits of hardworking folks in rural America.

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July 1, 2018

In 1928, Jesse and Serena Sutherlin have moved their family from Virginia's Buffalo Mountain into town. The economy is booming, and both Sutherlins are working for the local sawmill. When Sheriff David Privette tells them they've found the body of Jesse's father in the pit of a local ice house, Jesse is incredulous--he had been told that his father had died of the Spanish influenza in 1918. Although the sheriff shows no interest in investigating the cold case, Jesse at least wants to find his father's heirloom gold watch. His questions stir up trouble. One man ends up dead, and Jesse is attacked several times. But a mountain man who survived the Great War isn't easy to intimidate. With Serena backing him, Jesse's going to find his father's killer and whoever is trying to bury the truth. VERDICT Following Ramsay's death in 2017, Dana Stabenow ("Kate Shugak" series) polished this final book (after Copper Kettle) in the "Jesse Sutherlin" series, offering a warm, atmospheric Southern historical that is sure to attract readers of Donis Casey's mysteries featuring a strong family with solid values.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2018
Jesse Sutherlin, survivor of WWI and happy in his Virginia mountain home, has his world all of a sudden shattered. He'd believed his father died 10 years agoin a flu epidemic back in 1918, but evidence has surfaced saying the old man was murdered. Jesse's effort to sort it out produces a masterful detective story, a narrative without an ounce of fat. Ramsay has the knack of creating an entire milieu in a sentence or two with the most seemingly casual conversations pushing the story forward. The violence, when it comes, is truly startling. Another gift is the beautiful language on display. The fellow pointing a gun aims to send your soul over, and the truth isn't what you most likely suppose. Someone set in his ways has got petrifaction of the brain. Fortunately, too, Ramsay knows when enough style is enough. The cast is delightful, especially Jesse's wife, Serena, a sweet mountain girl who's smarter and tougher than he is and who can't resist letting him know. And a sheriff who hates criminals because they make him work. This has always been an underappreciated series, but this volume is good enough to set off plenty of blips on readers' radar screens.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)