Review on River of Shame by Susan Clayton-Goldner

I am reviewing another great novel by Susan Clayton-Goldner. It is River of Shame, the fourth mystery book in the Winston Radhauser Series. This 290-page novel was published on September 12, 2018, by Tirgear.

Susan and her 4 brothers grew up in New Castle, Delaware. She has written poems and short stories since she was little. She met her husband, Andreas while she was a Director of Corporate Relations for the University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona. Andreas was a Dean at the University of Arizona's Medical School. Eventually, they left Arizona to live on a 35-acre horse ranch in Williams Valley, Oregon. This is where she writes her novels.

Something evil is going on in the town of Ashland, where Detective Winston Radhauser and his family live. He doesn't like it. Detective Radhauser is on vacation when he gets a call from his boss to come in and interview a victim. There have been brandings of racial slurs on high school kids. Who would do this and why? Then there is a murder in Radhauser's barn, that of a high school boy who worked part-time at his barn. Radhauser is out to find the culprit. Is this murder connected to the branding or is it something different? Then there is the second murder. This is a race against time to find the culprits. Will Detective Winston Radhauser solve the case before there is another murder or branding? You will have to read the novel to find out.

I would recommend this book to any reader who loves a good thriller, mystery, murder, crime, or suspense novel. If you love this book then you need to read the authors first three books of this series.

For me, this was a nail-biting novel. I couldn't put it down until I finished it which I did in one evening. It is fast paced but enjoyable. You will want to have a cup of coffee or tea beside you when you read this book. There are twists and turns all through the book. The characters mesh together and they are believable. This book takes you to a small town where everyone is accepted for who they are until the racial slur brandings are revealed. The town is shocked by this. It goes to show that this can happen in any town. This novel is part of a series but it can be read on its own. The ending did surprise me but that is all I am going to say. The author writes this book in a way that it is not boring but entices you to read until the end.