A great thriller! What I appreciated the most was the uncertainty of where the story would go next. Without any major spoilers (but minor one!), you finally find out who the murderer is and think the story is all wrapped up, noticing there’s a bulk of the book to go…. You have no clue what you’re in for, through the very last sentence. A wild ride!

**3.5-stars rounded up**

When the Corn is Waist High is confounding to me. I have had the most difficult time trying to determine what my final rating will be. Jeremy Scott, you have left me confused, surprised and at a loss for words.

This story follows our narrator, Solomon Lancaster, who is a Catholic Priest, as well as the Sheriff for his Indiana County. Although Lancaster seems slightly unprepared to run a murder investigation, he'll be the first to remind you that the Sheriff is in fact an elected position. He's not actually a trained criminal justice professional. He's definitely more comfortable in his role listening to the confessions of his congregation.

So when bodies start dropping in his community of Crooked Creek, he begins bumbling around like a cowboy at his first rodeo. While the initial body was surprising enough, after the second and then the third, it's clear the community has an active serial killer on their hands. The FBI gets called in and they aren't impressed by Lancaster's skill set. Nevertheless, he manages to keep himself involved in the investigation.

This book was interesting. I listened to the audiobook and appreciated the narrator's classic storytelling voice, as well as Scott's no-nonsense writing style. I made it through the story in a day and had some highs and lows, but I was never bored. I was definitely intrigued, with one major twist dropping my jaw and having me question everything I thought I knew.

After that point, the intensity continued to climb for me as I began to see things in a whole new light. In my opinion, that was really well played by Scott. I loved how I was sort of lulled into a sense of complacency, feeling like this was just a normal Police Procedural, but it's sure as heck not!

Additionally, I did love the ending of this. It left me with that devious little smile on my face I love so much; more than satisfactory. I am wondering if this will be the start to a series, or if this is where Scott is going to leave it?

Generally, I am not a huge fan of religious elements being involved in my stories, and I know others may be turned off by that, but I really don't see how this story could have worked otherwise.

Thank you to the publisher, Turner Publishing and Dreamscape Media, for providing me with copies to read and review. This was my first novel by Scott and I look forward to picking up more in the future!

I received this audiobook as an ARC from NetGalley. Interesting story, I definitely wanted to finish but it drug on and was a wordy for awhile. Somewhat unbelievable as well. Though 2/3’a of the way through it occurred to me that it might make a good tv show. Cross between Longmire and Dexter.

I’d like to thank #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for an audio arc in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. I thought the narrator was excellent! The story follows Father Solomon who is also the Sheriff in the small town of Crooked Creek in Indiana. The town is usually quiet, until bodies start piling up and Father Solomon has a serial killer on his hands. Trying to solve the murders, deal with small town politics, be the town sheriff and the town priest and protect the residents, he has his hands full. This book was well written. The characters were well developed flaws and all. I will say that having a priest curse so much was a little unbelievable…he swears a lot. The murders were gory so be prepared for that. There is a twist and quite an ending, overall, I enjoyed this book.

When the Corn is Waist High is a great & thrilling book. I found it to be funny and full of surprises. I did find myself feeling critical of Father/Sheriff Solomon because, for a priest, he sure did curse quite a bit! I would highly suggest that you keep reading/listening to this book despite that. Everything will become clear in the end. I think that Jeremy Scott did a great job with this story and with keeping me entertained and intrigued until the very end. I really appreciate the plot twist. I also enjoyed the narrator.
I'd like to thank the author, Netgalley and Dreamscape for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest and voluntary review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

The thing that I really liked about "When the Corn is Waist High" is that it shows that the old literary tool of the 'detective priest' can still work in the modern world. Father Solomon has his quirks and his unique style, but you get the sense that he pretty much has things under control in the small town of Crooked Creek...until he doesn't. Yet through it all, he maintains and upholds the long literary tradition of the priest who seems to know all along who the killer is.

Jeremy Scott has created a thriller/mystery that doesn’t follow traditional lines at all. It doesn’t zigzag through the narrative, leaving unconnected dots everywhere, only to wrap them up at the end. No, Scott offers a linear look at a series of crimes through the eyes of the town sheriff.

The characters are interesting and there is plenty of humor, though it isn’t the bulk of the story. Just past halfway in the book there is a twist that puts a few things into perspective. It twists again later to help make sense of the rest. Narrator Rivera does a great job with the protagonist and the telling of the tale.

Four stars for this one. This witty, sometimes funny thriller kept me engaged and wanting more, while hitting me from the blind side. Not my usual genre, but it was worth my time. My thanks to Dreamscape Media via Netgalley.

#dreamscapemedia #whenthecorniswaisthigh #NetGalley #KindlesAllTheWayDown #KatzAllTheWayDown #ifcatscouldread #booksandcats #catsandbooks #booksandcatstagram #catsandbookstagram
#bookstagram #Catstagram #audiobooks #thriller #mystery

Ah this just wasn’t my favorite. Interesting story line. It was just a lot. But not enough at the same time? I didn’t love any of the characters. Usually I love a good Murder mystery but this just wasn’t for me.

When the Corn is Waist High is a mystery/thriller by Jeremy Scott with tons of dry humor. The eBook version is 294 pages. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in just shy of nine hours and is narrated wondrously by Thom Rivera. We follow our main character with a first-person point-of-view.

Sometime in the 1980s, Father Solomon Lancaster is both the elected sheriff and the priest of the community Catholic church in Crooked Creek, Indiana, though he may have lied on his resume a bit. Up until a series of murders begin occurring in their small town, he was able to keep his two jobs fairly separate. But once FBI agents, analysts, and profilers take the town--and the case--by storm, things get a little muddy. And Father Lancaster isn't really all that he seems.

This was a really fun read! I laughed out loud several times. There are also several "recipes" in this book as well. If you don't like swear words, this book is not for you because Father Lancaster has a mouth like a sailor. There's a twist at the 60% mark that was one of my potential theories but the one I least expected. This book would be good for fans of absurdist mysteries/thrillers like the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich or Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto.

Thom Rivera is an amazing narrator! His voices for the different characters were very captivating and I'm definitely going to look into other books he has done the narration for in the future.

Tropes in this book include: serial killer, unreliable narrator

CW: cheating, murder, death

Special thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for providing an audio ARC of this book for me to review. All opinions contained herein are my own. When the Corn is Waist High releases on Tuesday, April 19th, 2022.

4 ⭐
I am a big fan of serial killer reads and I quite enjoyed this one, although it was quite unconventional.

Father Solomon Lancaster is both a priest and the town sheriff ~ a job he got without any experience. How does one come into law enforcement without any criminal justice background?🤷
He has the pottiest of all potty mouths. I am no stranger to swearing at all, but holy moly there was an awful lot of it happening. Perhaps his previous job was a truck driver.

The murders were quite violent and graphic.

I am happy with narrator, Thom Rivera. He did a great job of keeping me engaged throughout.

At about 60% or so in we get a nice twist I didn't see coming and I liked the last little zinger at the end. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more work from this author in the future.

TW: cheating

*Thanks to Netgalley, [author:Dreamscape Media LLC|19425262] and [author:Jeremy Scott|13508694] for the advanced audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

ARC Review – Expected Release April 24, 2022.

When the Corn is Waist is a murder mystery that takes place in a 1980’s small town in rural Indiana where a series of murders start taking place and Father Solomon Lancaster, who is both the local Catholic priest and the small-town sheriff must start uncovering truths and try and stay a step ahead of the FBI who don’t believe the small town cops can handle the work.
For me there were some interesting pieces of the story along the way, but as a whole it didn’t do much for me. The major twist wasn’t that shocking felt like it was out there in the first chapter, and the characters and timeline of events didn’t seem realistic to me.
I’m sure there are many who will enjoy this book, I just wanted more from what sounded like a promising premise.
The Narrator, Thom Rivera, did a great job with this book. He kept me engaged in a book that I may have DNF’d if reading traditional text.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me with a chance to get in on this book early. I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to listen to this. Unfortunately this is not what I was expecting. A Priest who is also the town sheriff but has no police experience who constantly is cussing and sleeping with his co worker who is married.....this thriller was probably the oddest book I have listened too. Lol

It may be for you but definitely was a what the hell for me 🤣

ARC audiobook provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“When the Corn is Waist High” is novel about a serial killer set in the 1980’s in rural Crooked Creek, Indiana. The book is narrated by Father Solomon Lancaster, who is both the local Catholic priest and the small-town sheriff. In this quiet setting, a serial killer begins to stalk the citizens, and the bodies soon pile up. The mayor quickly calls in the FBI, who takes the lead on the investigation, which seems to go nowhere fast.

As the serial killer holds the town in a state of ever-growing fear, secrets begin to unfold. Father Solomon has secrets of his own and is forced to face some shocking truths. The serial killer continues to escalate, and Father Solomon finds that both trust and the truth might be the deadliest weapons of all.

I’m a big fan of thriller/mystery/horror/serial killer books. This book sucked me in right from the beginning. The author’s writing style made it easy to immerse myself in the world of Father Lancaster and Crooked Creek. I quickly found myself dying to know where the story was going. Would the serial killer be caught? Would the FBI solve the murders, or would it be small-town Father/Sheriff Lancaster who saves the day? How many bodies would pile up before the killer was through?

I raced along with the characters through twists, turns and surprises. I’m usually good at figuring out what was going to happen in a book, but this book caught me off guard and kept me guessing right until the very end. I felt like I couldn’t walk away from this book. I needed to know what was going to happen. This book was a fully engaging read which left me wanting to read more novels by this author.

My ARC copy of this book was an audiobook, so I must make note of the quality of same. The narrator was excellent, weaving between character voices easily. I was pleased with the narrator’s inflection throughout the book as well, easily keeping me engaged in the story. I highly recommend this as an audiobook.

Overall, “When the Corn is Waist High” is a top-notch thriller/mystery/serial killer book. It is full of twists and turns, with a bit of humor thrown in. Although I had this as an audiobook, I will be picking up a written copy as well. This book was engaging, entertaining, and hard to walk away from. I highly recommend this for fans of these genres, as well as readers looking to dip their toes into the thriller/mysteries. I feel this book is so engaging it is hard to put down and makes for a quick read. It is a fun take on a serial killer book with twists and turns a reader may not see coming. I recommend that readers pick this book up and join Father Lancaster for this twisty ride. You won’t regret it.

This one really grew on me. It took a little while to get into it, but by the end, I was in total awe. The characters were interesting and the story itself felt entertaining. I will say the twist was one that was pretty easy to guess, but that didn't take anything away from the story for me. I enjoyed seeing it all play out even knowing where it was going.

Thank you for this book When the Corn is Waist High in exchange for my honest review.

To be honest, I did not like the book as much as I thought I would based on the description. Yes, the characters were captivating. However, the plot lost my attention along the way.

“When the Corn is Waist High” tells the story of a 1980’s small town in rural Indiana that experiences the horror of a series of grisly murders. The story is told in first person by a smart-alecky, wisecracking Police Chief who also happens to be a Roman Catholic priest. Something different, eh? And that is not nearly the strange part of this serial murder story that also happens to be humorous as well.
I shan’t detail any more of the storyline lest I give away some of the surprises that unfold from chapter to chapter. I give Jeremy Scott, the author, a whole lotta credit for a creative “voice” in this novel…(assuming this narrative is, indeed, fiction?! My tastes in mysteries and suspense stories leans heavily towards higher-level fiction and so Mr. Scott’s book is not my style. I also did not appreciate the gratuitous and misplaced use of foul language: I am no prude but cussing should fit the personality and not just tossed in for shock effect. Only other criticism is that I like mysteries that carry me along till near the end of the tale. We learn fairly early who the bad guy(s) is/are.
I am glad I listened to “When the Corn is Waste High” at no charge due to the kindness of NetGalley and their audiobooks offerings. Mr. Scott is a talented writer and will find a sizable fandom for his writing efforts. So…not for me but may be for y’all.

Clever book. I figured the twist out almost immediately but still loved when it was revealed. As someone who listens to a lot of audio books I can be picky about narrators. The narrator of When the Corn is Waist High was great.

Wow, this book really threw me for a loop and I didn't expect the middle part to happen. Father Solomon Lancaster is not only the person that takes your confession, but he's the town sheriff as well.

Murders have been happening in the small town of Indiana one by one to good people. The police are scratching their heads trying to figure out what is happening and the small community is as well. Father Solomon is trying to solve these murders as fast as he can with the help of officers loaned to them from other small communities. However, the FBI gets involved and Father Solomon looses control of the investigation.

I was definitely thrown for a loop and didn't expect the ending that happened.

While this was a predictable thriller with a predictable plot twist, you could literally see it coming from page one, the narrator of the audiobook did a great job. I enjoyed listening to his voice. The plot of the book could very well and probably has been a cable tv movie of the week. All these things aside, in my opinion it was just ok.

A rural Indiana town experienced a series of murders in the early 80’s. In charge of the investigation is sheriff and priest Father Salomon Lancaster. His lied about his police qualifications and has been faking it ever since. Now with the FBI taking over the town, he must prove himself.

Father Solomon’s has secrets of his own and as the bodies start to pile up and the investigators close in on the killer, he begins to worry that his secrets will be revealed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

2 Stars ~ didn’t work for me
The Promo really sounded like a fun read
As the Catholic Priest in Crooked Creek, Indiana, caring and witty Father Solomon Lancaster has not only his parish to manage but is also the town’s sheriff.
He totally has his hands full when a serial killer is terrorizing this small town with gruesome murders. As he is investigating, the FBI comes and questions his law enforcement credentials.
Oops not a fun read ~ It was a disappointment.
(I am guessing some readers find a priest using profanity and dropping f-bombs is funny: Nope ~ not one of those readers.)

I like a court room drama so hung in there hoping I would find something worth my time.
When the truth came out, I did say “Oh I get it!”
However, I didn’t enjoy it. Not to say that many other will like this. We all have our own unique tastes when it comes to our reading pleasure!


Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review. Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 19, 2022.