The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and though I’ve never been there, the photos I’ve seen are just gorgeous. It’s an area of gorgeous scenery, wild creatures, trails, festivals, and music. It’s also the setting for Wayne Zurl’s series featuring Prospect, Tennessee’s Police Chief, Sam Jenkins.
Title: The Great Smoky Mountain Bank Job (Sam Jenkins Mystery)
Author: Wayne Zurl
Read by: David Colacci
Category: Mystery- Police Procedural
Audio published: July 28, 2012 by Mind Wings Audio
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Purchase: Amazon MP3
Sam Jenkins’ law enforcement colleagues know he’s quick to ask a professional favor. But when a beautiful Treasury agent asks for his assistance, he balks. Special Agent Lucy Frobisher wants Sam to re-open a forty-three year old investigation and find her father’s killers. Reluctantly, the ex-New York detective turned Tennessee police chief delves into the robbery-homicide and finds himself back-tracking events in the 1960s, chasing down a group of anti-government Anarchists who robbed banks to finance their violent revolution.
I’ve read a few of Zurl’s full-length Sam Jenkins mysteries, but this is the first short one I’ve listened too. At only an hour, it was quick, but I have to say that David Colacci’s voice was very close to the voice of Sam I had in my head. I like Sam. He’s amusing, charming, dedicated, a good guy. In The Great Smoky Bank Job he’s doing a favor for a friend, because it just so happens that he and his wife went to school with one of the suspects in the robbery. It takes a little digging, but Sam pulls through. I like that he asks for his wife’s help on this one. She quite a lady herself, and the two of them have some perfect dialogue.
Spending an hour with Sam and his friends is a nice diversion for a walk or doing some chores. I enjoy the full-length stories better, but I’ll listen to another one of these when I need a short audio break.
Sam Jenkins Series – in chronological order
Novels
- A New Prospect
- A Leprechaun’s Lament
- Heroes and Lovers
Novelettes
- A Labor Day Murder
- By the Horns of a Cow
- Serpents and Scoundrels
- Murder in a Wish-Book House
- A Murder in Knoxville
- A Fire and Old Ice
- Bullets Off-Broadway
- Scrap Metal and Murder
- Reenacting a Murder
- V is for Vitamin?
- Fate of a Floozy
- The Great Smoky Mountain Bank Job
- Hurricane Blow
Coming Soon
- The Butlers Did It
- Gypsies, Tramps, and ThievesJob
The mountains are glorious – I hope you get to visit one day!
Lovely picture 😀
this books sounds quite interesting!
visiting from A-Z, here’s my g-post:
http://www.smhasty.blogspot.com/2013/04/26-books-that-changed-my-life-7-beach.html
I’ve never heard of the story but the Smokey Mountains are beautiful. The trees look like broccoli when the leaves are out, in a beautiful way. I remember when my son was young and we were driving through the mountains he said “Wow! It looks just like a calendar!”
I’ve always wanted to visit them, but haven’t had the opportunity yet.
Haven’t read any of the books yet, but didn’t you have him as a guest once? I recall reading about him somewhere.
You really must go to visit the Smokies one day. I was living near there before I moved to Los Angeles and miss it. Most of my family still lives there in nearby Maryville, Tn which is about 15 miles from the park. Beautiful area.
Lee
A Faraway View
An A to Z Co-host blog
Never even heard of either these mountains or the books but I like a good mystery. I will definitely check out some of his books when I get some time [translate: not this month 😉 ]
Elliot
We Are Adventure
I grew up in the GSM and still live in the area! I’ll have to look for these books. It would be great to read stories set locally (#5 is where I work, and #7 is walking distance from my workplace)
I’ve been through a small part in Tennessee and all I remember is being carsick the whole time! I was in high school so I’ll have to make a return trip someday.