Book - An Undercurrent of Murder
An Undercurrent of Murder is a page turning murder mystery set in the Buffalo River wilderness written by Arkansas’ Former Tourism Director, Joe David Rice.
Summary:
“Advertising executive Randy Lassiter and his new brother-in-law, Dr. Gib Yarberry, aren't close. Hardly. When Randy's sister (and Gib's bride) tricks them into undertaking a male-bonding adventure in the Ozark mountains, none of them could have imagined that a simple backpacking trip would become a life-and-death confrontation involving a band of desperate drug runners. Or that chemistry could develop between Randy and Leslie Carlisle, a professional photographer they encounter on their trek who's finishing her feature assignment for a national magazine.
Their October adventure starts out innocently enough. But only hours into their hike along the Buffalo National River, Randy and Gib discover a dead man beneath the highest bluff in the Ozarks. While assisting a national park search-and-rescue team in recovering the body, they're told by a ranger that the incident will likely be reported as an unfortunate accident.
Continuing their journey, they soon spot a strange packet floating in the river. At first it appears they've found nothing more than a strange collection of media clippings, but when they discover a miniature cassette tape and thumb drive deep in the recesses of the waterproof container, they realize there's probably more to the man's death than they expected. That's confirmed when the powerful individual highlighted in the clippings stumbles upon their campsite.
What was supposed to have been an idyllic venture soon becomes a matter of survival as Randy, Gib, and Leslie--their new photographer friend-- are forced to battle both Mother Nature and a group of violent criminals who have everything to lose if the material in that mysterious packet makes its way to federal law enforcement authorities”.
Reader Review:
“Fans of Joe David Rice's two recent books chronicling the unique or off-the-beaten path treasures of his native Arkansas will be drawn to his first novel. Rice richly weaves his detailed knowledge of the Ozarks into a lively paced adventure of three hikers trying to escape a menacing pursuer who is desperate to keep secret a discovery the hikers stumble across. Only someone who has spent hours camping and hiking in the most remote areas of Arkansas could describe so vividly scenes along the Buffalo River. His protagonist, an ad agency executive familiar with both the inspiring and daunting features of an Ozark cave, may hold the only the passageway to survival for the hunted hikers. Imagine a John Grisham tale if he knew the Arkansas outdoors as well as Rice." -Nate Coulter, executive director, Central Arkansas Library System
-By Joe David Rice, former Arkansas Tourism Director
-Paperback
-Book is signed by author!
-If you enjoyed this book, check out Rice’s other novel: A Nasty Way to Die and his Arkansas Backstories books!