Father to a small Catholic congregation and sheriff to the rural town of Crooked Creek, Indiana, Father Solomon Lancaster is a complicated man who has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. When a string of murders begin targeting the good citizens of Copper Creek it is Sheriff Lancaster who is pressed to make an arrest, while Father Lancaster works to ease the fear of his neighbors and congregation.

The beginning of this book was a bit of a struggle for me. On one hand, a Catholic priest who swears a lot is quite different but his lack of basic police protocol was a head scratcher. I listened to this book in audiobook form and listening to Thom Riviera felt like I was listening to a diary not a book. Written in a first person point of view from Solomon Lancaster's thoughts and internal musings, the way it was written allows the reader some surprises along the way. However, the ending of the book was rather predictable and the circumstances that lead the serial killer to escape detection was too convenient. The final punch at the end did shock me and also explained away some doubt I had throughout the earlier pieces of the story.

Now, why 3 stars and not 4? As a woman there is a certain clique that often happens in male written stories that I absolutely can not stand. That clique is when a female character turns to a male character and utters the ridiculous question, "What are we going to do?" in exasperation. The male character then forms a plan to fix whatever the problem is while the woman has no input into the solution. This exact scenario happens in the middle of the story and it frustrated me to no end.

Overall the story was dark, gritty and enjoyable even though it grasped at some strays and stuck to a clique I hope eventually fades into oblivion.

Thank you author Jeremy Scott, publisher Dreamscape Media and @Netgalley for giving me access to an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When The Corn Is Waist High was fantastic!

I was hooked within the first few minutes. Father Solomon Lancaster is not your average priest, he is also the sheriff of the small Indiana town of Crooked Creek. When a string of mysterious murders start happening in town he needs to figure out why they are happening and find the killer. I am a lifelong Hoosier so I loved all the nods to small town Indiana. The book was hard to follow at times but ultimately was phenomenal. It was dark, gruesome and funny in all the right ways. The twists and turns had me guessing until the very end. The final twist was absolutely shocking. I would highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys a good thriller.

This book is one of those books where things happen that you (most likely) won’t ever see coming. It’s gruesome and unapologetic, and I definitely liked that!
It’s the early 1980’s. In a small community in Crooked Creek, Indiana, where everyone knows everyone else, a series of violent murders takes place.
Father Solomon Lancaster, a priest at the community Catholic church and the town’s sheriff, finds himself on the forefront of the entire investigation. Soon enough he finds that he is fighting to match wits with the serial killer who is butchering up the town. He’s also fighting to prove his law credentials to the FBI who has sent profilers and analysts who take the little town to task.
Still, everyone has their secrets and Father Solomon isn’t immune. Although he protects the secrets he knows from the community, they may come to light if the murders and investigation continue on. He also finds that the innocent have dark sides as well.
I really, really can’t tell you about this book. It’s like walking on eggshells trying to communicate too much about what it’s about and things that happen. I’ll let you know that it has some really good action going on. It’s a little slow at times in the beginning but that doesn’t last long and then you are really in the thick of the story and gore.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s one that I wasn’t expecting at all. I listened to the audio book on this one as I got a review copy from Netgalley and it took the story to new heights and made it that more creepy and real. I definitely recommend it if you can. The narrator is excellent.
All in all this is a great story for fans of serial killer novels.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, the author, and anyone else that had even the slightest thing to do with me getting to early review this book. Thank you!

I loved this book. It reminded me of a Fargo/Dexter mashup with some great dark humor. I highly recommend it for any fans of crime fiction.
Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media who sent me an ARC audiobook of this title in exchange for my honest review.

This thriller is set in a small, rural town in Indiana. Father Lancaster serves as both a priest and the sheriff when a case of serial murders arises. The bodies are left maimed with different types of flowers placed at each crime scene. As the story unfolds the author explores how trust and who you give it to can ultimately make or break a person.

I enjoyed the narration by the potty mouthed priest because I think it is a perfect example of how hypocritical overly religious small town people often are in real life. While Lancaster is listening to the confessions of members of the community, no one suspects the secrets he himself keeps. The plot moved along at a good pace and flowed seamlessly up until the twist about halfway through. I became less invested near the last quarter of the book because I felt like the ending was going to be predictable. Ultimately, it was and it wasn’t in that the basic outcome I expected happened, with a slight shock at in the last chapter. All in all, I didn’t love it but it was still an enjoyable read. Shoutout to NetGalley for letting me get an early listen!

****Caution**** There is some offensive language and sexual content to this story that may be offensive to some.****

Solomon Lancaster holds two jobs in a rural town farm town in Indiana. He has his hands full being the priest at the local Catholic church and also the sheriff of this quiet town. Seems like a very odd dichotomy, but Solomon seems to balance the two pretty well, until there is a murder in town and Solomon is called in to figure out who the killer is. He is often a foul mouth sheriff/priest and when he and his office are forced to back out of the investigation, his vulgarity and witty repartee shows.

However, when a second and a third murder follow, Solomon and his crew plus the inept FBI are now on the trail of a serial killer. Strangely this killer leaves (at times sews onto) the victims fresh flowers and their presence really baffled the police. The FBI and police force search all know sources of the flowers, but to no avail. You can readily guess the powers that be are left befuddled.

Meanwhile, we learn of Father Solomon's close connection to the former pastor of the church and feels a father son relationship budding. However, more murders occur and the police seem to be chasing their tails. The townspeople are frantic and then with a pow, the killer and his motivations are revealed and once again, I didn't see that one coming. As the story concludes we are once again slapped with another wow moment, but is the killer finally found? Perhaps!

Language aside and the sex scenes (You will know if you read it why), this book kept me listening on my long car ride home from Virginia. I thought the narrator did a fine job with the story and was able to hold my interest and sense of who could it possibly be.

Thank you to Jeremy Scott and NetGalley audio, narrated by Thom Rivera for a chance to listen to this story due out April 19, 2022.

The Catholic Priest is the Sheriff is the...wait...nope...there are twist after twist in this one. There is murder after murder in this small town. If you can get past all the food references, this is a really good mystery/thriller and you don't know who the killer is until about 2/3 of the way through it but wait until the ending because that is a shocker. Plan on not putting it down once you start because it is a page turner or if you have it in audio as I did you just have to keep listening to find out what is going to happen next!

DNF @ 15%

The book tries too hard to be funny. A Catholic priest, who is also the sheriff, and who throws around f-bombs isn’t funny. Nor is the fact that he lied on his application about his education.

In the beginning he forgets to wear gloves at a crime scene? His excuse was he wasn’t educated in criminal justice. Oh please….you don’t have to be in law enforcement to know that.

Plus the down-home, small-town Hoosier shtick grows very thin too. I lived most of my life in IN, although granted not in a rural small town, but I know those who did and none of them acts and talks like this.

If I'm rolling my eyes at 15% it's time to throw it atop the dnf pile. Not for me!

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this audio. Unfortunately it is not for me, but it doesn't mean it isn't for other readers. I wish only the best for the author!

Dark, gritty & a bit naughty.

Well. Where to begin with this one. I have so many feelings.


I wasn’t sure in the beginning how i felt about it. There’s a lot of detail that i think is unnecessary here so some parts i skimmed over. Just over detailed. Like everything they’re eating. So skipping those parts, the story…

It’s a dark one. There’s some gruesome murders. They’re briefly described so not too gory but they’re rough. And this priest is not anything like any priest I’ve ever met. He cusses and he’s got some attitude. Not only is he the local priest but he’s the sherif, in charge of finding the killer. Until the FBI is called in.

There was also some romance to this one. I liked that too 🤭😏 it just flowed well in the story.

I feel like i knew the killer from the start but still once it was revealed it was still a shock because i wasn’t expecting it to go down like that! 😯

This is just one of those reads that you have to keep going because what & why and how will it end!?

There could be some revisions to this one but i actually really liked it. I think it will be one that has me thinking about it for a bit.