JUST A PIDDLIN', LITTLE TWO-BIT MURDER

This first book in the Doctor Carstairs mystery series opens in the sleepy
town of Logan, Ohio, with a series of bloody, "sexy" murders
involving the sheriff, his nubile wife, and several innocent bystanders --
the wily ruse of a clever killer to even the score with a former buddy.
The dark misty murders, suggesting a lurking monster, terrify the
community.
Dr. Robert A. Carstairs, well-known author and criminology professor
at Hocking College, risks his friendships and life to capture the elusive
murderer. Or does he? In turn, he "fingers" the sheriff's wife, the deputy,
even the sheriff himself -- a longtime friend -- then forces the shadowy
killer to emerge from the mists and darkness to face death.
Underestimating the former colleague's "Appalachian smarts," the
killer proves this was no "Piddlin' Little, Two-Bit Murder" after all.
As with all Cron's books, the ending is a startling, unexpected triple-
twist. Will the killer, the pursuer, or both, pay with their lives? And
which is which?