Bitter Roots

C.J. Carmichael

Apr 2017 · Bitter Root Mysteries Book 1 · Tule Publishing

About this ebook

 Bitter Roots (Book 1 of Bitter Root Mysteries)
Dispatcher Zak Waller prefers working behind the scenes in the Sheriff’s Office of Lost Trail, Montana, but when a newcomer to the sparely populated town is brutally murdered—and the Sheriff is quick to pin the death on an unknown outsider—Zak starts his own private sleuthing.

On the surface Lost Trail is a picture-perfect western town, offering a simple way of life revolving around the local ranches and ski hill, but Zak knows the truth behind the façade. When his old school friend Tiff Masterson, whose family owns a local Christmas tree farm, moves back to town, the two of them join forces to get to the truth about the murder.

Bitter Roots is the first of three Bitter Root Mysteries.

Ratings and reviews

Welcome to the very small town of Lost Trail, Montana.... where nothing exciting ever happens. Well .... almost. A young woman is found brutally beaten and left dead at the back entrance to what passes as a hospital. New in town, no one seems to really know her. She had just started working at the Christmas Tree farm. So who would want her dead? The sheriff rapidly comes to the conclusion that there could absolutely not be anyone from his small town ... obviously it was someone from her past. But there are two people who do not agree. Zac Waller is the police dispatcher, a job he loves, although he's way over-qualified. He does more investigating than the Sheriff does. Nadine Black is the new Deputy. On the surface, Lost Trail is quiet and unassuming ..... it's the underbelly that's filled with secrets and lies ... and murder. I really enjoyed this story set in a small, small town ... where everyone knows everyone else....for the most part. It's well written, I can almost smell the Christmas trees. The characters are outstanding. Although there are no frantic chases or bodies falling, it's a constant, no surges of adrenaline. Quite enjoyable mystery. Zac hasn't decided what he wants to be when he grows up, but right now he's very happy doing the job of dispatcher. He just can't help himself doing a bit of investigating himself. An old friend comes back to her hometown and while people think they are a couple .. they aren't. Zac has his eyes on Nadine, but not sure he wants to go there. All the secondary characters are extremely reminiscent of small town life. The 90+ year old librarian .... the man who marries a woman in order to give her daughter a father. He has a huge secret that not even his father knows .. and how does he tell his new wife, who seems to have an agenda all his own? The couple who have adopted a brand new baby ... and even after wanting a baby for so long, why are they not happy? Bitter Roots is the first of three Bitter Root Mysteries. No cliff hanger with this book. I won this book as a give-away from Library Thing. So I wish to thank them and the author. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

An amazing mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. Riley is new to Lost Trails, Montana when she is found dead on the steps of the medical clinic. Tiff has just returned home to the tree farm, after gone for many years. Dispatcher, Zach will use his own sleuthing to find the murderer. Love the cast of characters, all with interesting lives. Many layered secrets in this small mountain town, that I really enjoyed. Loved the town library!! I can't wait to visit Lost Trails again.

I loved this mystery. I was enthralled right up to the end. Tiff is back in Lost Trail, MT after her life in Seattle crashed and burned. Zak is her high school friend, and dispatcher at the sheriff's office. Drama hits the small town when Riley, a newcomer to town who works at Tiff's family's tree farm, is found murdered in town. Zak and Tiff find themselves in the middle of solving the crime. The cast of characters was great. I was in suspense right up until the end. I had many of my own theories about the murder, but this book was so well written that I couldn't be confident about any of them. There were several strong possibilities. I enjoyed the closure at the end, finally learning who killed Riley and the motivation behind it. Great story!