How do you identify and stop a serial killer? This problem is difficult enough when the villain follows the usual patterns of selecting similar victims, or murdering his prey in the same manner, or killing in a limited geographic area. But it becomes infinitely more difficult when an intelligent criminal expert, someone who has written a book on deadly crimes and how to investigate them, is responsible. Jack Goodman, the serial killer, is cunning enough to hide his heinous activities in plain site by making them appear to be accidents, gang killings, suicides, robberies gone wrong, and drug overdoses. He also murders victims over a large geographic area. He can do this because he has developed an avocation that allows him to move around freely while identifying and casing targets without drawing suspicion. His methods and meticulous planning explain why Goodman, a wealthy resident of Staunton, Virginia has successfully accomplished his killings throughout Augusta and Rockingham counties. Goodman's wealth came through an inheritance when his wife died under suspicious circumstances. After settling into Staunton and working for years to develop his plan, he began his "south valley campaign" just six months ago. During this brief time he has built up a staggeringly large number of victims without the least bit of suspicion that a serial killer is operating in the area. When the supervisors of both counties hold public hearings addressing the slightly higher death rates in their regions, they vote to establish an intergovernmental task force to investigate. The main purpose of the task force is to shift the responsibility to the two county sheriffs. After trying unsuccessfully to escape the task, each sheriff finally assigns his best investigator to serve on the task force. The two people selected, Dan Showalter and Becky Yoder, have a history. They were lovers two decades ago. Now they are thrown together and have to deal with what appears, at first, to be a throwaway assignment, determining whether or not a few more additional deaths really amount to anything. Dan is the son of country farmers. His socialite wife has deep misgivings about the new partnership. Becky is the daughter of an old order Mennonite farm couple. She left the religion in early adulthood. Other key characters include Dan's humorous neighbor, Idamay Jones, and Harry Shipplett a former Special Forces soldier. The two county sheriffs also play important supporting roles. One is straight-laced, formal, and new to the job. The other is comical but competent. Because the two counties lie at the southern end of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the Valley itself is a central character in the book. Dan and Becky utilize very different approaches to investigation, which causes them to clash at times. They finally determine that there must be someone conducting serial killings. But who is doing it? Becky and Dan ultimately enter into a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that leads to even more killings. There is a strong possibility that the investigation will be taken over by the state police if they don't resolve the case quickly and engage in some deception. How far does Becky and Dan's new relationship go? Will Dan's marriage last? How will the deadly cat-and-mouse game end? This novel of over 124,000 words answers these questions. Readers who enjoy travelling to the locations and businesses identified in novels can certainly do so with this one. It should be noted that there is strong language in Clarity, which might offend some. This is the first in the Shenandoah Mystery series, and a web site (shenandoahmysteries.com) provides insights into Clarity and the next novel Farmer's Daughter Recommended, which should be available by January 2016.
About the Author: Jim McAuley received his PhD in sociology from the Pennsylvania State University and has been a faculty member, center director, associate dean, and department chair at several major universities. He has published more than 80 peer reviewed research-based articles, book chapters, and books. During his career, Jim also headed two professional journals, as Editor-in-Chief of The Gerontologist and Editor of the Journal of Applied Gerontology. In retirement, Jim has turned to fiction as an outlet for his interests and expertise. He currently lives in and writes about the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and West Virginia, where he produces free videos for travel venues.