WWII has ended, but things are far from back to normal where operations of the Santa Fe railroad are concerned. Not only are tensions high among the union workers, but pickpockets are causing problems along the section of line watched by one-armed railroad bull (investigator) Hook Runyon. Frustrated with not being able to apprehend them, Hook must also deal with other problems along the rails. When he's sent to find out why a wigwag signal is not functioning on a remote stretch of track, Hook is shocked to discover a young man's body hanging from it.
Unable to find any identification on the body, except for the Bronze Star hanging around his neck with the inscription of Samuel Ash on it, Hook vows to return the man's body to his family for proper burial. Hook's quest to locate Samuel's family, as well as his killer, is further complicated by a series of mishaps along the way. Each step makes for more questions and more bad luck. Hook is further hindered by having to train a young man foisted off on him by his supervisor. Why is nothing ever easy?
THE HANGING OF SAMUEL ASH is the fourth entry in Sheldon Russell's thought-provoking historical mystery series featuring Hook Runyon, a multifaceted, imperfect hero. The way Hook deals with his professional and personal life may not be with a lot of finesse, but it is certainly brilliant. I've read, reviewed and recommended the three previous books in this series and THE HANGING OF SAMUEL ASH is no exception.
Railroad bull Hook Runyon and his dog, Mixer, are chasing
persistent pickpockets on the Santa Fe line when Hook is
called to investigate a malfunctioning wigwag signal in the
middle of nowhere. A young man has been strung up there,
hung from the signal, and left strangled to death. Hook
finds no identification on the body, other than a bronze
hero's medal around the corpse's neck, with the name
Samuel Ash engraved on it. Refusing to bury what seems to
be a World War II hero in a pauper's grave, Hook vows to
find the dead boy's family, as well as his killer.
With the casket in tow, and slowed down by an over-educated
sidekick, Junior Monroe, and a stream of new tasks from the
head of division, Hook finally finds his way to Carmen,
Oklahoma. But no one there has ever heard of anyone named
Samuel Ash. There are secrets in Carmen, most of them
associated with the local orphanage and its disliked
director, and Hook is determined to get to the bottom of
the mystery of the hanging of Samuel Ash.
Vivid characterizations, searing descriptions, and a twisty
plot make Sheldon Russell's THE HANGING OF SAMUEL ASH a
gripping read.
EXCERPT
The knot on the rope, big as a manรขโฌโขs fist, scrubbed under
his ear. It smelled of hemp and horse sweat. Heat
lightning flashed on the horizon, an empty promise of rain,
and thunder rumbled over the staked plains. The breeze fell
still as death, and from somewhere crickets struck up a dirge.
The rope zinged over the cantilever of the railroad wigwag
signal, its tail dancing just within reach. A snap of the
rope jerked him onto his toes, and he looked up into the
star-lit night. Blood rushed beneath his eardrums, and he
sucked air through his teeth.
Somewhere beyond the darkness, the whistle of a westbound
train rose up. He turned his head against the rudeness of
the rope to search out the engine light. His ankles burned,
and his legs trembled under him. The rope, cinched tight,
cut into his flesh. His thoughts gathered like a moment in
eternity.
Hanging done right, heรขโฌโขd heard, proved a sweet way to die,
the weight snapping the neck, so powerful its force that a
miscalculation could pop the head from its mooring. The
headless body, they said, sometimes stood and walked about.
But such mercy would not be his, no drop to oblivion, no
void, no pity this night.
The thunder rolled once more, and he wondered if it might
rain. But then it never rained. The rope jerked tight. He
reached for the ground with his toes and found it gone.
Grasping the rope, he hung on with all that he had.
The roar of the westbound broke on the horizon. The lights
of the wigwag signal, red as blood, flashed back and forth.
The bell clanged in alarm, and the train whistle screamed
from out of the blackness.
His arms trembled and burned, and when he could do no more,
he released the rope. As he rose into the air, his eyes
bulged, and his tongue swelled from between his teeth. His
back arched, and his engorged genitalia stood erect. A
light burned into his eyes, bright as the sun, and then
receded to a point in the universe.
The train raced off into the darkness, and the night
stilled. Lightning flickered on the horizon, but far away
now and silent.
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