National Network for Equitable Library Service

When Barry Clayton’s father developed Alzheimer’s, Barry gave up his career in law enforcement to return to the North Carolina mountain town of Gainesboro and run the family’s funeral home. But even a small town in the Appalachians is not immune to crime. At a summer street dance, Barry’s friend Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins is gunned down by an old man distraught at the death of his wife. To the dismay of Deputy Reece Hutchins, hospitalized Tommy Lee appoints Barry as the deputy in charge of the investigation. Who was the old man stalking? Who was the young woman who was wounded at the scene? What at first appears to be a case of a mentally unstable summer tourist quickly develops into a tangled web of deceit stretching from western North Carolina to the Florida coast. Someone is preying upon senior citizens. Barry realizes Deputy Hutchins is undercutting his investigation. Then potential witnesses and informants begin to die under mysterious circumstances and Barry must confront a conspiracy that runs so deep he can’t trust anyone. One false step, one betrayal could make this Buryin’ Barry’s final undertaking.