Clay cantrell mysteries — Bridging the river of time

About the Series

You could say that all the Clay Cantrell mysteries have one foot in the present and one foot in the past. Hero Clay Cantrell, his friend Mac, and the mysteries they must solve all happen in the present day. But each book also has a backstory with other characters that takes place in the past. It’s really a second plot–built through flashbacks to that earlier time–that develops along with the modern-day mystery. And in each book, that narrative of past events ultimately bridges the river of time, so to speak, to reach forward in some way and affect the contemporary mystery Clay and Mac are trying to unravel.

In book one, Lost Treasure, flashbacks to the last days of the Civil War reveal how the Confederate gold came to be lost. Eventually those events lead to a surprising revelation for Clay as well. But I shouldn’t say any more than that here. In the second book, Killer Fog, flashbacks to prewar America tell the story of a Nazi spy ring operating here and provide key clues to the mystery surrounding a cell of jihadi terrorists that Clay and Mac must solve. And in The Girl Behind the Wall…. Well, you get the idea. You will just have to read the book to see how events from a time long ago somehow bridge the years separating past and present.

In all the Clay Cantrell books, Clay and Mac operate out of a small Virginia town, Staunton, where they live and restore historic houses. They’ve made the transition from the military to what should be a humdrum civilian life there, and the town’s many nineteenth century buildings are fertile ground for their kinship with the past.

At first glance Staunton seems to be a peaceful country village nestled in the foothills of Virginia’s bucolic Shenandoah Valley. But as in all places where people come together in numbers greater than one, there is more going on than meets the eye. Which goes a long way to explaining why trouble always seems to find Clay. Fortunately for us, he won’t back away from a fight or let go of a mystery until it’s solved.    
    

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