ForeWord Magazine Award Mystery Finalist
“When the owners of the local newspaper in Mason County, VA, are murdered, Deputy Sheriff Tom Bridger is put in the awkward position of having to tell his ex-girlfriend her parents are dead. The Taylors had arrived in the 1960s as volunteers in the War on Poverty and stayed on, making friends and enemies. Veterinarian Rachel Goddard, the sheriff’s current lady love, gets involved when a childhood friend is targeted as the prime suspect. VERDICT: This third Rachel Goddard mystery (after The Heat of the Moon and Disturbing the Dead) grips readers from the opening page with a suspenseful plot that will leave them breathless. The tension between Tom and Rachel adds to the thrill of the hunt for a clever murderer who has covered all the bases. Fans of Margaret Maron’s Deborah Knott mysteries will enjoy.”
—Library Journal starred review
“Near the start of Parshall’s excellent third Rachel Goddard mystery, the Mason County, Va., veterinarian witnesses an argument between newspaper publisher Cam Taylor, who’s desperate for money to save his paper, and popular cartoonist Ben Hern (aka Cuban-American artist Benicio Hernandez), who won’t give him any, at Ben’s mansion. On the drive home, Rachel spots Cam’s abandoned car in the road, pulls over, hears gunshots, and finds Cam dead in the woods. Later, Cam’s house burns down with a woman’s bullet-ridden body inside, initially identified as Cam’s wife. Another shooting victim; the arrival of the clingy ex-girlfriend of Rachel’s love interest, deputy sheriff Tom Bridger; and the disappearance of Ben’s mother raise the stakes. Rachel and her vet assistant, Holly Turner, must take care not to become a frantic killer’s next victims in a suspenseful tale distinguished by its sharp prose.”
—Publishers Weekly starred review
“The past casts long shadows and no one knows that better than Sandra Parshall. Broken Places is a tense exploration of how past acts can come back to haunt the present. It kept me guessing till the very end.”
—Margaret Maron, bestselling author of the Judge Deborah Knott mysteries
“Torn between an old friend and a new love, secretive veterinarian, Rachel Goddard, finds herself targeted by a killer for a crime she didn’t witness in Sandra Parshall’s engaging Broken Places, another strong mystery from this Agatha Award winner, which will keep you guessing wrong right up to the stunning climax. Bravo!”
—Kris Neri, author of High Crimes on the Magical Plane and Revenge for Old Times’ Sake
“Rachel’s third is a tense, well-written combination of mystery and romance that will keep readers guessing.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Buried secrets are at the heart of this third mystery featuring veterinarian Rachel Goddard (following The Heat of the Moon, 2006, and Disturbing the Dead, 2007). Celebrity cartoonist and children’s author Ben Hern, a newcomer to rural Mason County in southwestern Virginia, has a secret that makes him vulnerable to blackmail by local do-gooder Cam Taylor. That makes Ben a prime suspect when Rachel finds Cam’s body with a bullet in it. On the same morning, Cam’s house burns down, and his wife Meredith’s body is found in the ashes. Then Rachel and her housemate, Holly, are nearly asphyxiated, and the Taylors’ nearest neighbor is murdered. Chief deputy sheriff Tom Bridger, whose relationship with Rachel is threatened by the return of his scheming first love, Lindsay Taylor, must look deep into the past to find the key to the killings and to unearth the most deeply buried secret of all. Parshall again makes the most of the rural-community milieu in this worthy addition to her series.”
—Booklist
“The scenic but poor Appalachian setting of Broken Places becomes so real on the page that one can almost smell the wood smoke. With its well-paced suspenseful plot, romantic tensions, and touch of history, Broken Places makes for a great read. And the animals in this book, seen through the compassionate eyes of veterinarian Rachel, will win animal-loving readers over all by themselves.”
—Verna Suit, Mystery Scene
“Publishers Weekly got it right, ‘a suspenseful tale.’ Third in this author’s Rachel Goddard series, set in the rural mountain region of southern Virginia. The novel is rich with atmosphere, clean and incisive writing, and a well-thought-out plot… The number and variation of present conflicts, the revelation of long-festering wounds, results in a complex novel of many layers and several surprising developments… This is a fine, fine novel. This author has real insight into many variables of the human psyche. A most satisfying novel.”
—Carl Brookins, author of The Case of the Purloined Painting