Blog Tour: Another Man’s Ground (Claire Booth) @TLCBookTours

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Another Man’s Ground, the second novel in the Hank Worth series, by Claire Booth! Today, I’ll be providing a mini review for Another Man’s Ground along with a mini review for the first book in the series, The Branson Beauty!

 The Branson Beauty

The first novel kicks off in the small town of Branson, Missouri, where Hank Worth, the newly appointed sheriff, is dealing with a tourist boat crash in a lake.   What begins as a minor irritant soon becomes more troubling when the body of a teenaged girl is found, apparently murdered? Hank must work through police politics, small town red tape and other obstacles to try and bring justice.

I don’t read many cozy mysteries so, he first thing that struck me about The Branson Beauty was how, how can I say this this correctly, nostalgic the novel felt. This is no big city crime story; it is set in a small town, with small town issues and where everyone knows everyone’s business. I found this to be different from other novels I have read lately that are usually set in large, nameless cities like New York or Los Angeles. Booth brought about a sense of familiarity with her small town setting, sort of like an old school crime novel.

Hank Worth was an extremely likeable character; a family man and do-gooder trying to do the right thing and be true to himself.   I really liked how REAL he felt. He was witty and brought just the right amount of humour into a text that could have been much darker.

 

Another Man’s Ground

I feel like I could have gone into Another Man’s Ground without having read The Branson Beauty first; so, good news, this one can read as a standalone!  However, I do recommend going back and reading the first in the series; it does help with connecting to the characters!

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to read it. But, since I was a fan of Hank Worth in Booth’s first novel, I dove on in. Hank Worth is back and is called out to investigate the theft of some elm tree bark, however, he does end up stumbling upon some dead bodies in the process and then the plot really gets rolling!

I found this one to be much faster paced and a little bit darker than The Branson Beauty; this pleasantly surprised me! I was expecting the same wholesome vibe that I felt with the first novel in the series, but instead, I found this one to be more compelling and similar to the thrillers I usually find myself enjoying! However, Booth does not lose sight of her original narrative style and I found the characters to be just as likeable within this plot!

Another great read by Claire Booth!

Overall, although not my usual type of reading, I enjoyed the change of pace and style in Booth’s writing and I feel like any fans of the cozy mystery genre or something that feels a bit more innocent will really enjoy following Hank Worth in Branson, Missouri!

Thanks to the author and TLC blog tours for the copy of these novels; it was my pleasure to be able to provide an honest review.