Deputy Tempe Crabtree’s Patrol Area
Being resident deputy for the mountain community of Bear
Creek means that Tempe not only serves in the immediate area, but also in the
high country and all the way to the lake, and sometimes the Bear Creek Indian Reservation.
Though this particular setting has a great resemblance to the town of
Springville where I live, it isn’t an exact replica. One reason is that some
businesses tend not to make it so it’s easiest to stick to those that have been
around for a while and make up others.
The
geography is a bit different too. The altitude is 1000 feet higher making the
town closer to the big trees and the opportunity for more drastic weather
changes.
The
story in Raging Water takes place solely in the town of Bear Creek
because of events caused by the weather. Bear Creek floods inundates homes
along its banks, and the one road out of town is covered by a mud slide. A
lightning strike takes out the electricity.
Most
of the action takes place on the highway, along the river, in the trailer park
and low income housing, the fire station, the only market, the café, Bear Creek
Community Church, the Inn, and the homes of Miqui Sherwood and Anne Albert’s.
(If that last name sounds familiar it is. Anne won a chance to have her name
used for a character in this book.)
For
me, setting is as important as the characters and often has a lot of influence
on the plot as it does in
Raging Water.
Marilyn
Raging Water Blurb: Deputy Tempe Crabtree’s
investigation of the murder of two close friends is complicated when relentless
rain turns Bear Creek into a raging river. Homes are inundated and a mud slide
blocks the only road out of Bear Creek stranding many—including the murderer.
I know there are some people
who like to read a series in order, but let me reassure you that every book is
complete. Though the characters grow through each book, the crime is always solved.
Here is the order of the books for anyone who wants to know: Deadly Trail, Deadly Omen,
Unequally Yoked, Intervention, Wing Beat, Calling the Dead, Judgment Fire,
Kindred Spirits, Dispel the Mist, Invisible Path, Bears With Us, Raging Water.
Bio: Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published
novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the
latest Raging Water from Mundania Press. Writing as F. M.
Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel us No Bells, the forth from
Oak Tree Press. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in
Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety
Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/
Marilyn
borrows a lot from where she lives in the Southern Sierra for the town of Bear
Creek and the surrounding area.
Do enter my giveaway contest for a copy of the previous
Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, BEARS WITH US. Leave a comment and you're
automatically entered. Include your email addy so I can get in touch with you
should your name be selected at random. The winner will be announced on my blog
http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com
on December 11,
2012. Good luck!
