Hatchet Job

CUT TO THE QUICK...

Folks don't see much crime in St Michael, Missouri. Sure enough, none of the Halloween trick-or-treaters visiting the "haunted House" run by the town's charities notice that the fellow playing "Executioner's Victim" has really gotten the as. It's buried deep in the already cold corpse of insurance man Phil Dempsey.

Dennis Stowerton, the youngest county sheriff in all Missouri, doesn't care much about dusting for fingerprints and modern scene-of-[the-crime techniques. He leaves that to his deputy, Pete. But scrappy, Ozark-born Stowerton is downright brilliant about puzzling out mysteries. Only this time, every bigwig in the small town had a motive to kill Phil. And stepping on the wrong toes in St Michael can cost Stowerton no only his job, but his life.