There are 12 books in the Samuel Craddock Mystery series. The newest book is The Curious Poisoning of Jewel Barnes which came out in 2025.

1
A Killing at Cotton Hill

Book cover of A Killing at Cotton Hill
In this award-winning debut mystery novel, the chief of police of a small town is also an unreliable drunk. So when Dora Lee Parjeter is murdered, her old friend and former police chief Samuel Craddock steps in to investigate. He discovers that a lot of people may have had it…
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2
The Last Death of Jack Harbin

Book cover of The Last Death of Jack Harbin
Small town mystery and veteran's issues collide as retired police chief Samuel Craddock investigates a murder. Right before the outbreak of the Gulf War, two eighteen-year-old football stars and best friends from Jarrett Creek signed up for the army. Woody Patterson was rejected and stayed home to marry the girl…

3
Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek

Book cover of Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek
The small town of Jarrett Creek is bankrupt. Samuel Craddock thought he was retired but now he's been asked to return as police chief. Gary Dellmore, heir apparent to the main bank, is dead, apparently murdered. Dellmore supposedly had a roving eye, although his wife says he was never serious…

4
A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge

Book cover of A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge
Someone is trying to kill Jenny Sandstone and she might know who it is. But how can Samuel Craddock protect her when she seems hell-bent on protecting the attempted killer's identity? Craddock has learned to accept that his neighbor and friend Jenny's personal life is strictly secret. But when her…

5
The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake

Book cover of The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake
Nonie Blake is back home from a mental institution where she has spent the last twenty years, and people are worried. Maybe too worried, for within a week of her return, Nonie is murdered. Police Chief Samuel Craddock thinks the only possible suspects are members of her tight-lipped family. Ever…

6
An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock

Book cover of An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock
When the Jarrett Creek Fire Department is called to douse a blaze on the outskirts of town, they discover a grisly scene: five black young people have been murdered. Newly elected Chief of Police Samuel Craddock, just back from a stint in the Air Force, finds himself an outsider in…

7
A Reckoning in the Back Country

Book cover of A Reckoning in the Back Country
Acting Police Chief Samuel Craddock investigates the murder of a visiting physician, whose mangled body is found in the woods. When Lewis Wilkins, a physician with a vacation home in Jarrett Creek, is attacked by vicious dogs, and several pet dogs in the area around Jarrett Creek disappear, Police Chief…

8
A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary

Book cover of A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary
A FAVORITE SERIES CHARACTER FINDS HERSELF IN HARM'S WAY. After using an online dating site for senior citizens, town favorite Loretta Singletary--maker of cinnamon rolls and arbiter of town gossip--goes missing. Chief Samuel Craddock's old friend Loretta Singletary--a mainstay of the Jarrett Creek community--has undergone a transformation, with a new…

9
Murder at the Jubilee Rally

Book cover of Murder at the Jubilee Rally

Chief of Police Samuel Craddock faces a race against time to solve a perplexing murder at a motorcycle rally before the event comes to an end.


"Suggest for fans of mysteries featuring small-town police forces, including novels by Claire Booth, Steven F. Havill, and Tricia Fields" - Library Journal Starred…

10
Guilt Strikes at Granger's Store

Book cover of Guilt Strikes at Granger's Store

Trouble hits an animal feed store in a small Texas town, leaving Samuel Craddock grappling with a deadly mystery.

"The Samuel Craddock series may be the best regional crime series around today. This installment is no exception" Library Journal Starred Review


Chief of Police Samuel Craddock is perplexed by a…

11
The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson

Book cover of The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson

Was Maddy Benson asking for trouble?

Everyone knows everyone in a small town like Jarrett Creek. So Chief of Police Samuel Craddock is perplexed when he receives a call from a woman asking the police to rescue her sister. Who is Maddy Benson?

Maddy said she had to get away,…

12
The Curious Poisoning of Jewel Barnes

Book cover of The Curious Poisoning of Jewel Barnes

"The Samuel Craddock series may be the best regional crime series around today" Library Journal Starred Review of Guilt Strikes at Granger's Store

Strange goings-on in a small Texas town

Newly single Chief of Police Samuel Craddock hasn't got time to worry about his own troubles―not with Lily Barnes' wild…