What an excellent book! I loved how Claire Booth wove this mystery together with great characters and settings. I read it in a day. Well done.

This murder mystery combines real historical elements about the Ozarks near Branson with the author's imagination of a series of events that happens after an overzealous podcaster brings up the potential for buried treasure in those mountains. The listeners come to the area, and two of them are murdered in search of the loot. How the mystery of their deaths unfolds is told through the eyes of several town officials and hangers-on that are colorfully drawn and interesting to read about. I am somewhat familiar with this part of the country having visited the area several times, and glad that there weren't any murders happening -- at least that I knew about. Booth's plot points and the novel's early forays into figuring out quite literally where and why the bodies have been left behind are interesting and the novel remains compelling right up until its conclusion. Highly recommended.

Among other things, a good fiction book makes me feel something and takes me on a journey of discovery. Claire Booth does both in Throwing Shadows, the seventh book in the Sheriff Hank Worth series. When a man stumbles from the woods hysterical and talking about a dead man, Hank launches a search near the infamous landmark of Murder Rocks. This is the site of an 1860’s hideout for ambushers who robbed and killed passing travelers. What the search reveals is more than one dead body.

A local legend says there’s caches of gold, silver, and other valuables buried in the area. When a podcaster reveals this, the Ozark backwoods near Forsyth, Missouri are swarming with treasure hunters who don’t care about a murder investigation or private property. Can Hank find the killer? Is there really treasure to be found?

As if this isn’t enough, secrets in Hank’s personal life are taking a toll on him, his wife Dr. Maggie McCleary, and their marriage. Can he resolve this and solve the case without everything falling to pieces?

Hank, Maggie, and Hank’s chief deputy Sheila Turley are well-developed characters. Hank is especially dynamic and grows as the story unfolds. He may be directionally challenged, but he’s also a great investigator. I especially liked that he praises and builds up his employees in private and in front of others. Maggie is an emergency room doctor and is only biased towards an accurate diagnosis. She puts patients first and can come home after a fourteen-hour shift and still have energy for their two children. However, a school supply trip of a few hours with two children can wipe her out after just a few hours. Sheila was injured in a previous book in the series and is still recovering, but she pushes herself hard to do her job. There are a lot of other characters, but they’re introduced gradually and I didn’t have any trouble distinguishing between them.

A fascinating story and good character development drew me into the book and kept my attention. The world-building is excellent as much of the activity takes place with fall rain and mud and in the woods. The interpersonal dynamics of the characters is excellent and the author is effective in showing readers how each character connect to the story and the others. Information about the legend is included throughout the novel. The story gradually builds momentum with twists and turns and a surprising conclusion. My biggest quibble is that the ending didn’t quite conclude one aspect of the personal dilemma faced by Hank and Maggie. Hopefully, this will be resolved in the next book. Themes include greed, pride, murder, relationships, and much more.

Overall, this is a solid police procedural with excellent world-building and compelling characters. The author does a great job of interspersing events in the character’s personal lives as they work to solve the case, bringing them together effortlessly. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Severn House and Claire Booth provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for August 05, 2025. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

Sheriff Hank Worth's hunt for the body a man swears he saw in the woods is complicated by treasure hunters and his life is complicated with family problems in this latest in the small town procedural series. This should be fine as a standalone but know that those who have been following along likely will get more from it. It blends in a bit of Civil War history. Thanks to Netgalleyfor the ARC. A good read for fans of the genre.

Throwing Shadows is the seventh book in the Sheriff Hank Worth Mysteries.
The sheriff has to call in the canine search team after a man reports a body in the woods but can't remember where exactly.
This police procedural that dabbles in civil war history is entertaining with suspense and has me interested in other books in the series.

Thank you, Severn House, for this opportunity to read this book, Throwing Shadows, by Claire Booth, before its release date. I'm sorry I have not yet read the previous 6 books in the series, which I have added to my TBR going forward. It's a good book with lots of twists and turns. Who are they, and who did it? Make me think of a previous old TV show I used to watch in a small town in Cape Cod, Maine. I enjoy the back-and-forth banter, who did it type of mystery. I feel I need to catch up on the previous back list. I enjoyed these small-town murder mysteries. not sure if our Sheriff had family problems in the previous series; in this particular book, he seems to have some marital problems and so much more.

Throwing Shadows is part of an ongoing series involving Sherriff Hank Worth. I will say that while you technically could read this as a standalone I probably wouldn't. The story itself is stand alone and fully told within the book. But there is a lot of character backstory that you are missing out on by just jumping right in. It can be a little confusing. The overall story is good and well told. There is strong character development - with the caveat that there is more development by reading the series. I love the small town detective feel.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Claire Booth’s Sheriff Hank Worth books are some of my favorite police procedural series. A warning, though. This is a series you really should read from the beginning, starting with The Branson Beauty. The small sheriff’s team in Branson, Missouri continue to work cases and develop personally in the course of this strong series. And, Hank’s personal life grows more complicated as the series continues.

Booth throws readers right into a complex story as a man who feels threatened plunges through the woods. He’s hysterical, injured, and a couple who sees him calls the sheriff’s department. The man claims to have seen a body in the body in the woods. Sheriff Worth has a deputy who is an excellent tracker, but when they find a body, it’s not the one that was reported. So, they bring in two search-and-rescue dogs, and find two more victims. What in the heck is going on in the woods to bring outsiders to Branson?

It seems there’s a podcast called “Hidden Hoards” that directed listeners to the Ozarks to find a treasure possibly hidden by Alf Bolin, an outlaw who terrorized and killed people in the Ozarks prior to and during the Civil War years. Gold! All kinds of listeners headed to Branson County to search for Bolin’s hidden treasure. And, some of them don’t make it alive out of the woods.

While Hank and his Chief Deputy, Sheila Turley, struggle to find enough staff to work the murder investigation, they both deal with personal issues. After issues with his father-in-law, Hank’s struggling to keep his marriage intact. Sheila’s preparing for the trial of a man who attacked her. But, the investigation of deaths in the woods takes priority.

Throwing Shadows is another outstanding book in an ever-evolving series. Booth’s use of the legends of Alf Bolin, along with a podcast that stirs up trouble, combines history and current topics. At the same time, the personal lives of Worth and his team allow the characters to come to life. In the past, I’ve compared this series to Terry Shames’ Samuel Craddock mysteries and Steven F. Havill’s Posadas County ones. This book, and the series, is a skillful blend of character and mystery.

This was my first Sheriff Hank Worth book and it won't be my last. I really liked the story and the characters. There were times I was confused about parts of the storylines but the author did a great job explaining everything. While it's part of a series it could be read and enjoyed as a standalone. I am a huge fan of podcasts so the idea that a podcast could cause so much chaos to a small town with treasure hunters was intriguing. I enjoyed the character development and am eager for book 8 to (hopefully) find out how Sheila's trial ends up.

In the seventh installment in the Sheriff Hank Worth series a man stumbles out of the woods saying there’s a dead body. Unfortunately he has no idea where in the woods the body was, leading Hank to call in search dog teams. In addition to dealing with the search and the normal everyday crime, treasure hunters are descending on the area drawn by a podcast that claims the contents of a bank were buried there during the Civil War and never found.

The book is an interesting mix of present day police procedural and snippets of Civil War history. It was a hard story to put down.

I had the pleasure of reading Throwing Shadows by Claire Booth, it's the seventh adventure in the Ozarks with sheriff Hank Worth. This time we also get a little civil war history in the mystery, someone is searching for gold in the woods and people wind up dead. We also have some ongoing problems both with Hanks family and his second in command. I really like this series and have a soft spot for small town mysteries and this one falls deep into that category. If you still haven't started enjoying this sereis it's about time you do. This book hits the shelves August 5. I have to thank Severn House and Netgalley for supplying me with this advance copy.

Are you a thriller lover?? Don’t skip Throwing Shadows by Claire Booth. This was a great one! It’s available soon!

I’m glad Claire Booth is continuing the Hank Worth series. This one has Hank and his wife, Maggie at odds with each other over Maggie’s dad, Duncan being accused of murder by Hank. They are struggling to find their way without Duncan being around to help out with the kids. In the midst of all the upheaval, a lost hiker is found at by Murder Rocks which has a history of having gold hidden. Murder Rocks is made even more popular due to a podcast that speculates on if the treasure is still there. Two dead bodies are found and the hunt is on to find out who the murderer is.

Great storyline and while there were some hints as to who the murderer is, the ending was rather sad.

Throwing Shadows: A Sheriff Hank Worth Mystery by Claire Booth is the latest read in a great series that began with The Branson Beauty. This is a series that must be read in order as events happen, create consequential ripple effects just like in real life, and people change. That is especially true in this case as this read is set just a few weeks after the events of Home Fires. Not only is the community dealing with the aftermath, Sheriff Hank Worth and his family are dealing with the scorched earth aftermath of a devastating family secret that burned through them all.

In the here and now, Sheriff Hank Worth is dealing with a surge in catalytic converter thefts across Branson County, Missouri. The devices are getting stolen in large numbers off the cars in the local car lots. It is happening in places that have poor or nonexistent security. Nobody has an idea they have been hit until a car is started for a potential customer and the loud racket makes it clear the theft has happened.

At the same time, Chief Deputy Sheila Turley is coping with her slowly healing injuries as best as she can as she faces the upcoming trail of her attacker. The same grit and determination that got her through the attack is getting her through each day, a painful minute at a time, now. The odds of getting a fair trial are considerably stacked against her, but Malcolm Oberholz assures her they can win the case.

Then a man in very bad shape stumbles out of the thick woods and everything else, personal, and professional, takes a back seat. He claims to have been lost in the woods the last two or three days. Not only was he not prepared to be wandering around in the woods, he was not prepared to find a body. He did. Now the good Sheriff and others on his team have to figure out where the lost man has been and if there really is a body in those woods so lovely, dark, and deep.

After some effort a body is found. It isn’t the first time blood has been shed in those same woods. Those woods have a bloody, and often violent, history that goes back decades and rumors of stolen treasure. There is a reason why the area is known to the natives as the “Murder Rocks.” That history inspired a podcast. That, in turn, brought out a bunch of people with zero wilderness skills to hunt loot from long ago. It also seems to have also brought out at least one killer who is not through yet.

Throwing Shadows: A Sheriff Hank Worth Mystery by Claire Booth is another very good read. Complicated as these books always are, it also features a lot of interesting local history for us armchair travelers. The result is another really good read that ends all too soon and leaves the reader wanting more.


I picked this up through NetGalley by way of the publisher, Severn House, which has me on their preapproved reviewer list. A fact I am very grateful for as the ability to instantly download is a wonderful thing. There was no expectation of a review.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Secrets of the Ozarks, past and present - greed and pride pushing the buttons. Two murders intertwined in a complex mystery with a solid and human team not letting up until it all unravels. Great series with real characters - will definitely keep you hooked.

Throwing Shadows by Claire Booth. This is Book 7 of A Sheriff Hank Worth Mysteries, The mystery portion of the book was a solid police procedural with great suspense, twists and turns, and a light touch of dry Missouri humor. Since this was the first book that I read in the series, I confused as to the backstories and histories of the main characters. However, the characters were presented in a manner that has made me curious about them and wanting to search out Sheriff Worth series' backlist. An entertaining read.
Thank you to the author, Severn House and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

When a hiker stumbles from the woods raving about a dead man, Sheriff Hank Worth launches a search. Near the infamous landmark of Murder Rocks a Civil War era hideout for ambushers who robbed and killed passing travelers they unearth two bodies and a skeleton. Local legend says there’s caches of stolen gold buried in the area. And thanks to some recent nationwide publicity the Ozark backwoods are now swarming with out-of-town treasure hunters, who have little concern for Hank’s murder investigation. With the clock ticking, Hank must identify the victims . . . and the killer. But could the new pursuit of long-lost plunder really have led to multiple deaths?! Good book! This book had great suspense, murder, mystery, intrigue, and a few shocking moments! The story was interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!