What’s on the Bookshelf: “Black Creek Burning”

With a mother who loves Agatha Christie and mysteries, I grew up seeing through the drama and searching for the truth among the clues. I love great storytelling, but even still, an author very rarely surprises me. When she does, I have to give her credit.

I thought I had “Black Creek Burning,” the debut novel by author R.T. Wolfe, all figured out thirty pages in. As a romantic, I excused the fact that I predicted the ending and relished in the romance of Wolfe’s multifaceted characters. Brie,...