Murder in the Ozarks

A Novel by Steve Weems

The Cast of Murder in the Ozarks

Deep in an Ozark forest stands an empty log mansion, the vacation home of notorious arms dealer Russell Emkey, Sr. His hunting estate and horse farm covers 20 square miles of wooded hills and wilderness, the fall-back position for the Armageddon that never came. Though long dead, his shadow still falls heavily on those that walk his land.

Sent to the Ozarks on a simple assignment, depressed and disillusioned accountant Andy Bosher is drawn into the danger and intrigue of the backwoods culture he finds. Far from his safe, but empty big-city life, the assignment is not what he first thinks it to be. When there is a murder on the estate, Andy stubbornly sets out to separate the layers of deception from the truth despite the peril.

Andy is befriended by Slim, an elderly, work-hardened cowboy whose eyes sparkle with the wisdom of knowledge hard earned.

Charlie, the long-time estate manager with a love of whiskey and an edge of menace, refuses to offer Andy much assistance with his work.

Debbie, Charlie's wild and beautiful daughter, works part-time at the Emkey estate. Her affections run toward dangerous men and situations well beyond her means to control.

And who is Max, the mysterious recluse that everyone assumes Andy has come to see?