The idyllic town of Ashland is nestled in the foothills of Siskiyou Mountains. Locals often describe it as a little bit of England set down in Southern Oregon. Yet amidst the historic craftsman bungalows, the world-renown Shakespeare theaters, and the lush, manicured gardens in Lithia Park, something evil lurks.While walking his pet raccoon, 72-year-old Homer Sullivan spots something shiny … shiny sparkling in the leaves near Ashland Creek. Thinking it might be something valuable, he hurries over to retrieve it, hoping he’ll become someone’s hero. He panics when he discovers it’s a diamond ring and it’s attached to a severed hand. He must find Detective Radhauser and fast.
Winston Radhauser has always searched for the truth. Set just eight months post 9-11, a young Islamic family is terrorized, and the severed hand is only the beginning. This time, Radhauser is tested to his limits, but will the truth devastate him?
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A hand discovered in a local park seems like a prank. Only it turns out to be all too real. Could the victim still be alive? Detective Winston Radhauser is on a race to find out.
Set shortly after 9/11, “Red Hatchet Falls” is a murder mystery that takes on personal and social issues as well as crime. The amputated hand suggests to some people that the crime was carried out in accordance with Sharia law, and is used as a pretext to attack members of the local Muslim population. Others believe it’s a simple case of domestic violence. Radhauser doesn’t think so, but he’s having a hard time finding the proof to back up his hunch. Meanwhile, he is struggling to balance his responsibilities as a police detective with his responsibilities as a husband and father. All the potential victims and perpetrators have the same struggle and engage his sympathies, but that may be blinding him to the truth.
The crime aspect of the book is well done and will keep you guessing and turning the pages up to the end. It does involve severed hands, so extremely sensitive readers may find it a little too gory for their tastes. However, this is not a gore fest, so most fans of crime fiction are unlikely to be overwhelmed by it. As with the previous books in the series, the focus is less on the violence and more on the people and the relationships between them. While there’s plenty of investigation and action, the real story of the book is less about crime per se as it is about family ties, and how all the characters, Christian or Muslim, Western or non-Western, good or bad, have them.
This is book 7 in the series, so there is a certain amount of backstory from the previous books that comes up. If this is your first introduction to the series, this book will probably work well as an entry point, but as with all series, everything will make more sense if read in order. Don’t let that dissuade you from starting here, but be aware that there are some recurring characters and plot lines introduced in previous books.
My thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Radhauser is a good man who is always ready to help others. Cooper is a great baseball coach with a awful family life. When Cooper moves into the Radhauser place his mom goes crazy. The author will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next. I would give this book a higher rating than a five star review if I could. Susan Clayton Goldner is a amazing author. I had the honor to review this book for the author.
Homer is walking his pet raccoon and finds a hand with a diamond ring on. Detective Winston Radhauser is the investigator on the case. And then another hand is found. A page turning novel is this series. Det Radhauser has his hands full with the murders and protests against Muslims. A story of hate and abuse.
I have read all of the Radhauser series and was given a copy of this one for review.
The development of this character has been amazing and I have grown to respect him for the man that I picture. He is warm, loving, devoted, thorough and a great caring person. This latest books several plots, one is the Muslim situation in this country and our fear of them and how they are treated. The other is the mystery of who is murdering, cutting off hands and. placing them in the park. Radhauser takes on both situations and Susan Clayton-Gardner ties it all together and makes it a wonderful read. I highly recommend this current book and ALL of the Radhauser series. Another Winner, Susan!
Marsha Parsons has been murdered. Winston Radhauser’s old friend, Homer Sullivan has found her hand in Lithia Park while walking his pet raccoon. Just her hand.
But who can have done this? As usual in Radhauser’s cases there is no shortage of potential suspects. There is her abusive husband. But he was out drinking that night, and it appears he may have been too drunk to have committed the murder. There is the next-door neighbor, who admits to having suspected Marsha of having abused her children. But the neighbor allows that Marsha seems to be doing better since her conversion to Islam.
There is Mr. Parsons’ co-worker, a Muslim man whose wife was Marsha’s best friend and the one to introduce her to Islam. Her husband, Ahmed Azami, was frequently harassed by Sherman Parsons at the butcher department of Costco where they both worked, partly because of his religion (the events in this book take place less than a year after 9-11), and possibly partly because he felt that his wife was less amiable due to her conversion. Ahmed seemed to be a little upset with Marsha because he thought she was encouraging his wife, Daria, to be too active outside the home.
Then there is another murder. Again, there are ties to the Azamis. The victim is their son’s baseball coach. Earlier the same day he was berating the boy because he struck out at the end of a close game. Ahmed Azami went up to remonstrate with him, and the coach knocked him down. Naturally, he was upset. And their day just got worse. After taking his pregnant wife and son home, Ahmed feels the need to go for a drive to calm down. After that they decide to drive together to the next town for ice cream. But when they are almost there, they are stopped by a police officer there, just because he doesn’t like the way they look. One thing leads to another, and the situation ends with Ahmed being shot by the officer. Daria calls Radhauser since he is about the only person she knows who might be able to help.
For a while, it looks as if Ahmed Azami may have killed the coach, but he doesn’t seem the type. The coach has other enemies as well. But there are definite indications that this killer is the same one who killed Marsha Parsons. Who can it be?
And then yet a third body turns up with severed hands – both hands this time. This victim is someone Radhauser knows. Who . . . ?
Oh no, oh no, OH NO! This one is too close. And too dangerous – it looks for a bit as if Radhauser may be the next victim.
Another great Detective Radhauser mystery!
When a severed hand is found in a park, Detective Radhauser must find the body it came from but there are few clues. Normally a murder investigation demands all of his attention but the aftermath of 9/11 is creating havoc in his community. Muslim families are being terrorized and endangered. As a second hand is found the investigation may expand into a hunt for a serial killer.
As always, Susan Clayton-Goldner is a master at building suspense and creating realistic crime mysteries. Detective Winston Radhauser’s character is very relatable. His back story interweaves into the plot and adds depth to the plot. It’s well-written and a story that any crime novel enthusiast will enjoy.
Detective Radhauser always gets his man. I love reading this series because I am always guessing as to whodunnit until the end and I love to see the characters grow with each new book. Set only a few months after 9-11, this book tackles complex social issues that have plagued us for decades. This book does not disappoint!
WOW! Susan Clayton-Goldner never stops to amaze me with her writing. Once I pick up one of her books I am unable to lay it down until I have read the last page. All of her books so far are filled with so many twists and turns and secrets that it likes to hold onto revealing them one at a time. Just when you think you have it all figured out as to who the killer is you are slammed in the face with more clues, clues that you never saw coming and will leave you shocked as to who the killer is.
Red Hatchet Falls is a story about bulling and hate. Detective Winston Radhauser is back once again with a few murders to solve. In the opener Winston is at his daughter Lizzy’s baseball game when he is called away to a murder scene. A 72-year old man while out walking his pet raccoon stumbles upon a shiny object. Upon closer inspection he sees that this shiny object is a diamond ring attached to a hand with no body.
Now Detective Radhauser sets out to look for the person the hand belongs to but doesn’t find a person, no, all he finds is a body. It is not long before more hands and bodies start to turn up. Who is killing these people and why? Is it a crime of hate? Or is it a crime of passion?
I fell in love with all the characters, Kareem a little boy in Lizzy’s class who plays baseball too and his mom and dad too. Kareem was bullied on and off the field because he is Islamic.
There is Lizzy’s coach, Cooper Drake he was so amazing with all the kids. He knew how to talk to them and make them feel better when they got an out. He was a good, hard worker. Radhauser’s wife Grace gave him a job helping out on the ranch with the horses but if he saw anything else that needed doing then he didn’t hesitate or ask permission or wait to be told he just did it even if it wasn’t a part of his job description.
I highly recommend Red Hatchet Falls to all mystery, thriller and suspense fans who love a great story. One click your copy today!
This mystery is well written and is a nice change of pace as it resembles how in real life the police as well versed as they may be in crimes do not always figure everything out and sometimes get things wrong. Detective Wind must try to solve a murder while also living his life and keeping racial tensions from exploding in Ashland. Prejudices, memories, and humanity are all factors he must deal with in this mystery. The monster’s are not always easy to spot.
I received this ARC and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
Red Hatchet Falls by Susan Clayton-Goldner
A Winston Radhauser Mystery #7
Winston Radhauser, often called Wind, is a husband, father and homicide detective. He often has to leave his family duties behind to go to crime scenes but his relationship with wife and children is strong and loving. When he is called away from his daughter’s little league game he is not thrilled and even when he sees the severed hand that has brought him in to work he is wishing he could have stayed to see the end of the game. Putting those feelings aside he immediately is on the job searching for the body that belongs to the hand.
This is definitely a police procedural who done it sort of story but it also deals with issues of bullying, racial profiling, bigotry, religious intolerance, post 9-11 fear, hate, child abuse, revenge and more. This was not always an easy book to read but it made me think and care and wish the world was a better place than it is for so many in the world. I cringed at the politically incorrect terms some characters verbalized and yet realize that it is probably just as common today as it was in 2002 when this story took place.
What I liked:
* The reality of the story
* The way Wind went in to address bullying in the school once he heard about it
* The relationship between Radhauser and his family
* The unflinching look at and handling of big issues
* The children
* The red herrings were plausible
* The writing – felt I was there
* Pretty much all of it
What I didn’t like:
* Only that it made me wish people did not have to suffer what they sometimes do.
Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
Awesome read. Tragic story. Susan Clayton-Goldner handled some tough situations in this book. Abuse and social profiling. The plot was well-written and the characters were well-developed. A very surprising ending. I loved the story. I recommend it.
Goldner knows how to weave a story. Period. Red Hatchet Falls is no exception. The murders (bleed outs from severed hands!) and the characters (Radhauser, Cooper, Ahmed…) are complex and the twists are surprising. In addition to tragic events and some tragic people, the social justice thread is evident (in this case anti-Muslim sentiment). I’d love that aspect of social justice in her series even if I wasn’t in love with Radhauser. (I am a self-proclaimed groupie.) Family dynamics, including Radhouser’s, set a great stage for an ending you won’t see coming. In the process, we learn something about behavior and community we might not have known. I did anyway.