The Substance of Fear - (A Sheriff Francis Hood Mystery) by Richard F McGonegal (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A small-town shopkeeper is found bleeding and unconscious. A former police officer goes missing.

Francis Hood, a sheriff in Central Missouri, steps into a quagmire of small-town secrets when he begins to look into these seemingly unrelated cases. He seeks assistance from Sandra Brondel, a crime lab analyst, who suffers from a severe form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. She is aided by the missing man's brother, Brian Rakestraw, who battles his own debilitating social anxiety.

As the investigation unfolds, the threesome form an unlikely alliance, confronting their individual fears while pursuing leads-sometimes together and sometimes at cross-purposes.

When Brian's car is run off the road, and Sandra is found in possession of incriminating evidence, events take a deadly turn. Hood must separate allies from adversaries in his quest to learn the truth.

Review Quotes

"The Substance of Fear by Richard McGonegal combines the intricate plotting of Agatha Christie with the human, small town characters from the Longmire series. A story of justice, search for truth, and redemption. As McGonegal's characters show, redemption is an ongoing process for us all."-Bradley Harper, Edgar-nominated author of A Knife in the Fog

"Sheriff Francis Hood is back, digging for the truth in this introspective tale of theft, murder, and deadly small-town secrets."-M. A. Monnin, Agatha Award-nominated author of the Intrepid Traveler Mysteries

"A solid investigative thriller with an everyman hero every reader can relate to and cheer for Amid zigs and zags, the plot never bogs down, the investigative pace stays steady, and the writing is crisp throughout."-Carmen Amato, author of the Detective Emilia Cruz series

"A solid investigative thriller with an everyman hero every reader can relate to and cheer for. Missouri sheriff Francis Hood and his signature line ("I'm your sheriff, Francis Hood") seem tailor-made for television. He's a man of few words and keen focus but is not without a few demons nipping at his heels. A recovering alcoholic, Hood has recently reunited with his wife and daughter but tensions remain. Amid this precarious personal life, he's teamed with a beautiful crime scene investigator with severe OCD to investigate a violent assault on the owner of a junk shop in a small town with deep German roots. Good old-fashioned detective work prevails over technology in an engrossing story that alternates between Hood's point of view and the machinations of a local gang. There's an uneasy link between the gang and the crime scene investigator that keeps the pages turning swiftly.

Amid zigs and zags, the plot never bogs down, the investigative pace stays steady and the writing is crisp throughout." -Carmen Amato, author of the Detective Emilia Cruz series