Buried in the Backwater

A Sheriff Elven Hallie Mystery, Book 1

By: Drew Strickland

Narrated by: Madison Niederhauser

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

A lifeless girl slips into the river, cold and crumpled.

Her body washes away with the rain. Her killer remains a mystery.

Sheriff Elven Hallie has been longing for a new case that would add some excitement to his small-town life.

But a dead girl wasn’t what he expected.

On the last murder case he worked, he was just a deputy with an experienced Sheriff to guide him and they were looking for an outsider.

This time, he’s in charge, and the killer is part of their community.

Short-staffed, and newly elected, Elven has an entire West Virginia county to police. With the help of his new deputy, Maddison Cook, Elven must navigate between Dupray’s rich and poor.

It’s an uphill battle the entire way.

With pressures mounting from the townspeople, county officials, and his own sense of duty, will he be able to catch the killer? Or will another body surface, pulling Elven in over his head?

If you’re a fan of C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett, Craig Johnson’s Longmire, and Jeff Carson’s David Wolf, then you will be sucked into this thrilling mystery with an ending that you’ll never see coming!

©2021 Drew Strickland (P)2023 Drew Strickland

Great way to start the series

This is book one in a series and I cannot wait to dive into the next book. The performance was amazing!

Good story

Can’t wait to read the second book hope it is as good. Very interesting ending and surprising

Predictable for the most part

Not as deep a story line as I would have liked. The characters were interesting and the story unfolded well. Nice twist at the end which makes me want to know what happens next . . .

Storyline

Some narration lame and incorrect but twist draws you to book 2! Guess that’s what I’ll do next. Characters basic but sort of interesting not deep. Easy to follow and pick up where you left off

great book

it's a book that keeps you guessing all the way to the end a very good book

Interesting

The reader’s voice was annoying when he said…he said..she said. Just dropped and there were too many.. really no necessary.

Juvenile..

If you're out of 8th grade, I don't recommend this book. Story could have been decent but the writing is juvenile.

Gripping page turner is misleading. Errors throughout with predictable plot and characters.

Story had potential but defeated by events, era and area errors, stereotype evil with weak/insufficient character build and predictable plot.
WV moonshiners? mid 30’s secretive & chauvinist, Sheriff Elvin, if served in Vietnam, investigating elementary grade child’s murder with smart phone selfies and social media?
Convenient new deputy placed in investigation.
Tried to like it but Not good Audible value for bus station paperback quality.

Great story!

Particularly loved the ending! Can’t wait for the next one! Looking forward to more from Elven and Maddie!

I hope this series continues on for a long time!

Must read book and series to start. Like the headline reads, I really hope this series continues on for a lot more books. There are a few series and authors that when i see a new book coming out I get really excited for the story to continue. Buried in the Backwater is now one of those. There are so many colorful characters in the town and Holler and family are such good characters. There were great plot twists and it kept me guessing throughout. I was not expecting it to end the way it did and i was gripping my phone for the last 5 minutes with what was happening. It wrapped up really well and ended making me feel satisfied with how the story went. As for the narrator…I really liked the way he brought the characters and story to life. He did a great job and kept me engaged in the story. Cant wait for books two, three and so on!