A Dutch Curridge Mystery
A wealthy cattleman is laid out for viewing in a polished casket. The flowers are arranged. The mourners are gathering. The widow is waiting.
There's just one problem.
The casket is empty.
Before dawn, Dutch Curridge is dragged out of bed and into the strangest case Fort Worth has ever whispered about. Silas Bledsoe-land baron, church donor, and a man with more enemies than friends-has vanished from his own funeral. No forced entry. No broken locks. No signs of struggle. Just a satin-lined coffin waiting like a question nobody wants to answer.
The sheriff wants it quiet. The family wants it explained. Dutch wants to know whether the dead man walked out... or was helped.
As Dutch digs into the Bledsoe empire, he finds a widow too calm, a son too polished, a daughter too perceptive, and a foreman who knows more than he'll say. The deeper he goes, the more the truth refuses to stay buried. What begins as a missing corpse becomes a tangle of money, marriage, loyalty, and a plan bold enough to shame the devil.
And somewhere out west, on a forgotten road, lies the place where the dead man expected to wake up.
Sharp-witted, atmospheric, and driven by Dutch Curridge's dry humor and stubborn heart, The Corpse That Missed Its Funeral is a mystery about the lies we tell, the truths we bury, and the trouble that rises when a man decides to escape his own life.
Perfect for readers of classic noir, Texas crime fiction, and character-driven mysteries with grit, wit, and soul.