A Montana sheriff solves a quintessentially English mystery in this lively episode in A. B. Guthrie Jr.’s beloved suspense series
Sheriff Chick Charleston is used to the big sky, wide-open spaces, and no-nonsense attitude of the American West. But when his wife suggests a trip to England to research her family history, he is happy to tag along. The Cotswolds may not be Montana, but the rolling green hills have a majestic beauty all their own. No sooner does the sheriff begin to relax, however, than his vacation is interrupted by murder.
An American tourist is found face down in the Ram’s Head Inn with a knife buried deep in his back. Fearing scandal and international headlines, the local constabulary asks Charleston for help in questioning the other Yankees visiting this quaint country village. He may be a fish out of water, but the sheriff’s hard-won experience and keen understanding of human nature soon lead him deep into a tangled web of local intrigue.
Filled with the droll humor, meticulous plotting, and unforgettable character studies that distinguish Guthrie’s award-winning Western fiction, Murder in the Cotswolds provides delightfully unexpected entertainment from one of America’s most acclaimed authors.
A. B. Guthrie Jr. (1901–1991) was an award-winning American novelist, screenwriter, historian, and environmentalist. Born in Indiana, he was six months old when his father brought the family west to the Montana territory. Guthrie graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in journalism and worked as a reporter and editor for two decades before receiving a Nieman fellowship from Harvard University. During his grant year, he began to seriously pursue his interest in writing fiction. His first major novel, The Big Sky (1947), was followed by the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Way West (1949). Guthrie’s popular mystery series featuring Montana sheriff Chick Charleston earned a Silver Spur Award from the Western Writers of America and an award from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. The five books in the series are Wild Pitch (1973), The Genuine Article (1977), No Second Wind (1980), Playing Catch-Up (1985), and Murder in the Cotswolds (1989). In 1954 Guthrie’s screenplay for the film Shane was nominated for an Academy Award.