Eventually, she had enough of the real world and decided to write novels instead. Her Sheriff Hank Worth mystery series takes place in Branson, Missouri, where small-town Ozark politics and big-city country music tourism clash in, yes, strange and convoluted ways. Her latest is the critically acclaimed Hidden Currents.
Booth applied the Page 69 Test to Hidden Currents with the following results:
From page 69:Visit Claire Booth's website.The last sentence was half defiant, half uncertain. She stood there bristling in the dark, a mama porcupine because she didn’t have the resources to be a bear. Her thin pajama pants fluttered in the cold breeze as she crossed her arms protectively over her chest and told him wearily that he’d pronounced her name wrong. “It’s pronounced like ‘machine’ with an ‘R’. Everybody always gets it wrong.” She curled inward even more and tried to stifle a sniffle. “If I’d known she was going to take off, I wouldn’t have even gone to work.”If a reader opens to this page 69, they won’t find out much about the plot, but they’ll get a very good take on my main character, Hank Worth. He’s the sheriff of Branson County, Missouri, and this page shows him at his best. He’s kind and patient and very good at thinking through how he deals with people. This young woman works for a man who’s just been found murdered. He needs information, but she’s so panicked that he knows he won’t get anywhere until he calms her down.
By now Hank had backed clear off the porch. Hovering wouldn’t help calm her down. Letting her tell her story might. “Who took off?”
“Marie. Useless shitbag. Six hours. That’s all I needed.” Usually her mother watched the kids, but she had an appointment in Springfield. So Cousin Marie stepped in. And then stepped out.
“How’d you find out?” Hank said. “Who called you?” In his experience, useless shitbags didn’t tend to be that considerate.
“Kayden did.” At Hank’s blank look, she pointed behind her. “My son.”
She’d taught her four-year-old how to use the recall button on an old flip phone for just this reason. Undependable relatives and a non-custodial father with a habit of coming around anyway. This was the first time he’d ever had to use it. Then he sat with his two-year-old sister until Rachine got home, wild-eyed and panicked. She didn’t admit to that last part, but Hank figured it was a safe assumption.
“And were they both OK?” he asked softly.
She nodded, tearing up at the memory. She pointed at Hank with a trembling finger. “So Cole can take me back to court again, but this one thing don’t mean I’m unfit. You tell him I’ll fight him just like I did last time.”
No wonder she was so scared. He felt terrible. He would’ve explained right away if he’d known.
He held up a hand, palm out. “Rachine, I’m not here for that. At all. I’m here about you and Gene. Not you and your kids. I need to know about your work.”
Rachine, the young, single mom, has an ex-boyfriend who hated her boss, the man Hank found dead earlier in the day. Gene Willard was new to town. He bought a local business, moved right in like a bulldozer, and made a lot of enemies. So Hank has his work cut out for him as he investigates Willard’s murder. Some people, like Rachine, will try to help. Many more, including the victim’s own family, will do the opposite. They block the investigation any way they can—refusing to talk, destroying evidence, fleeing the scene. It takes all of Hank’s patience, and a good measure of stubbornness, to figure out who among Willard’s enemies is the killer.
My Book, The Movie: Another Man's Ground.
The Page 69 Test: Another Man's Ground.
My Book, The Movie: A Deadly Turn.
The Page 69 Test: A Deadly Turn.
Writers Read: Claire Booth (March 2019).
My Book, The Movie: Fatal Divisions.
The Page 69 Test: Fatal Divisions.
Q&A with Claire Booth.
--Marshal Zeringue
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