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High Country Mystery Books In Order

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Publication Order of High Country Mysteries Books

By: Vickie Britton, Loretta Jackson
Murder in Black and White (2011)Description / Buy at Amazon
Whispers of the Stones (2012)Description / Buy at Amazon
Stealer of Horses (2012)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Executioner's Hood (2014)Description / Buy at Amazon
Loyalty (2014)Description / Buy at Amazon
An Icy Death (2015)Description / Buy at Amazon
Crying Woman Bridge (2015)Description / Buy at Amazon
Murder and the Good Old Boys' Club (2016)Description / Buy at Amazon
Rapid River Hoax (2018)Description / Buy at Amazon
Deadly Purchase (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon
Blame it on Bigfoot (2020)Description / Buy at Amazon

Publication Order of Jeff McQuede Mysteries Books

By: Loretta Jackson, Vickie Britton
The Horse in the Corner (2016)Description / Buy at Amazon
King Henry's Christmas (2017)Description / Buy at Amazon

The High Country Mystery is a series mystery novels of novels by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson, who are a co-authoring team of sisters with over fifty novels and 100 short stories to their to their names. The first novel in the High Country Mystery series was the 2011 published “Murder in Black and White” title that made the lead character in the series, enigmatic Wyoming sheriff Jeff McQuede a household name. With the first novel in the series receiving much critical acclaim and popularity amongst detective mystery fans, the sisters published at least six more titles in the series by 2010. Loretta Jackson and Vickie Britton are some of the most travelled authors travelling all over the United States and to exotic locations ranging from Peru, China, India, and Russia in researching their bestselling novels. Their extensive knowledge of the history and legends of the histories of the western United States particularly the Old West makes for some unique flavored narratives in the High Country Mystery series. Drawn to out of the way places such as vast range of ancient historical lands, and old mining towns where legends still live on, the series is set in the rugged mountains of Colorado, Oregon, and Wyoming. The lead character in the series Jeff McQuede is a Wyoming sheriff who draws most of his inspiration from a sheriff of the same name from the old Wild West.

The chief protagonist in the series is a product of the Old West and modern-day sheriff Jeff McQuede. The late renowned frontier sheriff Jeff McQuede that had made his name maintaining law and order in the lawless West is one of his ancestors. Drawing inspiration from the old McQuede, he always follows the rule that always take a second look especially when you are certain that you are right. Nonetheless, he is also not immune to some old-fashioned belief in luck, and uses his shifting sand filled paperweight as a lucky charm for finding the right path and for concentration. McQuede operates from Durmont, a small fictional town in the rugged mountains of Wyoming. Through the course of the series, he works with a series of minor and major characters. Some of the major characters include his Aunt Mattie Murdock an opinionated and strong woman, local villains Sammy Ratone and Frank Larsh who likes to go by Ruger, the Shoshone Nate Narcu that operates Nates Trading Post, Shady Lane Motel owner Marty Stein, and Barry Dawson a professor that from time helps or impedes McQuede’s investigations. In addition to his dog Psy, who happened to be an abandoned mutt at one of his crime scenes, his girlfriend Loris Conner is also a major character in the series. Loris Conner works at Black Mountain Pass museum as curator, and hates that McQuede has to work in the isolated and rugged high country.

The High Country Mystery series is a series of seven titles that present the unique talents of McQuede as he goes about solving crime. For the most part, the novels in the series are an exposition of the history and legends of the High Country and how they are related to the age-old vices of vengeance, obsessive love, and greed. The novels are inspired from a combination of research from libraries, talking to local people about the veracity of old legends, and pure imagination. A picture the authors found in a museum, which had the cryptic words never graduated, inspired the first novel in the series. The second and third novels were inspired by actual stories of a mummy found in a cave by some workers during the 1930s, which went on to be the object of scientific speculation and curiosity, before going missing in the 50s. In fact, sheriff McQuede investigates such an event in the second novel in the series, where he investigates the Pedro Mummy that was a real life mummy found during the 1930s. The third novel in the series is more legend than historical as it tells the story of a woman that goes missing after she goes to deposit money in a local bank never to be heard from again. Subsequent novels in the series are either narratives of the dangers of violent crime or natural disasters such as blizzards that abound in the High Country. What is intriguing about these novels is that they are traditional mysteries in the mold of an Agatha Christie novel, where the murder takes place in the opening pages of the novels. The mystery is given right off the bat with sheriff McQuede needing to determine if there is malice involved in the murder, and if it is just who may have been responsible for it.

“Murder in Black and White”, is the first exhilarating novel in the High Country Mystery series of novels. Sheriff Jeff McQuede believes something is not right with a robbery at the Coal County Museum, where robbers broke in to steal only a black and white class photograph. Under the name of one of the student’s in the photo, the photographer had written the cryptic words “never graduated”. Things get even more interesting when workers demolishing the school discover an unidentified body that McQuede suspects is that of Jerome Slade the student in the photo that had never graduated, and had gone missing on the day never to be heard from again. It is not long before McQuede learns that Slade had had a huge rivalry with some of his classmates, but now there is a new twist in the case. His investigations also unearth the fact that Loris Conner, the woman of his dreams had been rivals with Heather Kenwell for the dead student’s affections. Even as everyone sees an innocent collection of museum pictures by Bruce Fenton, Black Mountain’s most eccentric photographer, McQuede sees nothing but calculated murder.

“Whispers of the Stones”, the second novel in the Loretta Jackson, Vickie Britton High Country Mystery series sees sheriff Jeff McQuede investigate the murder of a local antique store owner, Bill Garr. The only item missing from the shelves is the Pedro Mummy an old and rare artifact that had been discovered in the 30s only to go missing in the 50s. The newly arrived researcher in town, Dr. Seth Talbot has offered a $15,000 dollar reward for any person that has any information on the stolen mummy. The doctor has been researching a tiny race of people and believes the missing mummy is the key to proving his theory of little men he calls the Nimerigar. But things get worse for the doctor when the stolen mummy turns up in his car. Even as he claims his rivals are setting him up for the crime, McQuede believes there is a bigger conspiracy in the case. McQuede believes the mummy is being used as a cover for a bigger crime that someone has committed or is planning to commit in the near future. Now that he is barking up the right tree, he finds his career and his life are in grave danger.

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