The Evolution of the Series (8) "Road Shrines"

The working title for this novel was “Beds of Clay.” Once you’ve read a few chapters, you’ll understand why. I changed it because the initial inspiration for the story contained the image found on the cover, a “road shrine.” We’ve all seen them. Crosses erected along the roadside to commemorate the location of a family tragedy. Like my main character, Richard Carter, I do some of my best thinking while driving alone. In this instance, I wondered about a more sinister remembrance: the reliving of a sadistic predator’s “achievement.”

We are told by John Douglas and other members of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit that serial murderers constantly fantasize about their obsession. It’s why they use trophies taken from their victims and revisit the scene of the crime (probably the only criminals who really do that), and even go back to view body dumps. I thought, “What better way to remember someone than with a road shrine?” Enough about the plot. It’s supposed to be a mystery after all.





Oh. You might want to watch for this girl as you read. She has a story to tell—if she lives to tell it.








We continue with the growth and evolution of the Carter family. His PTSD is something Richard will never be rid of, but it plays less a part in the story. Jill is Jill, the rock of the family. Mirabelle is another year older, old enough that both her parents worry about her inevitable discovery of her parents’ past, and the “crime” for which Richard cannot forgive himself. The lives of the informal members of the extended Carter family (Raven and Shane Sanders, along with Ron Guidry) have significant changes in their lives. Returning for a reprise, is a colleague of Jill’s, Cyrus Hopewell (from #6 Call Her Sabine).

Richard finally meets Special Agent Tanner (from #3 Canaan Camp) in person after years of consulting by phone. The investigation, for all intents and purposes, however, is taken over by the FBI, while Richard is shunted onto a missing person case.

Road Shrines also introduces us to Woodie Koeltz, a rookie deputy from central Missouri. She is destined to appear in a future novel in the series.