Richard Cass at the OLLI/USM Creator's Fair

About this event

The dead don’t lie. The living do.

Former Army CID investigator Ardmore Theberge just wanted to complete his assignment: a routine land survey. But when he discovers a young woman murdered in a historic Maine graveyard—her skull crushed by blunt-force trauma—routine goes out the window.

The victim, Janey Nightingale, was part of an activist group fighting to stop a bottled water company from relocating the cemetery. The authorities seem in no hurry to solve the case. But when Ardmore's friend Millicent Feathernight implores him to look into what appears to be a crime against a fellow Native American woman, he can’t say no.

In the unorganized town of Platen, everyone has secrets and everyone has an agenda. When the victim's identity proves to be as false as the town's promises of cooperation, Ardmore realizes he's stumbled into something far more dangerous than a simple murder.

Especially when he becomes the prime suspect.

Now Ardmore must use every skill from his mysterious military past to clear his name and expose a killer—before he becomes the graveyard's next permanent resident.

LEARN MORE HERE!

PRAISE FOR HARD AS A HEADSTONE

" Hard as a Headstone does what the best regional mysteries do — it makes you feel the place in your bones while keeping you guessing. The remote Maine setting is first-rate, and the motive behind the killing is one I didn't see coming.” —Paul Doiron, author of Storm Tide

“Richard Cass had me after the first paragraph. With Hard as a Headstone , Cass delivers a bingeworthy trip to the real Maine wilds, with ex-CID investigator Ardmore Theberge showing the way. Both protagonist and writer are sure-footed, and the story moves faster than a logging truck on the Airline. Clear the day before you pick up this second installment in Cass's latest series. You won't be going anywhere soon.” —Gerry Boyle, author of the Jack McMorrow mystery series

"With a riveting setting and compelling central characters you can’t help but root for, Hard as a Headstone by Richard Cass delivers a taut, twisty tale that proves small-town Maine is more than lobsters and lighthouses." —Barbara Ross, author of the Maine Clambake Mysteries

“Dick Cass is back with another complex, layered mystery featuring former CID investigator Ardmore Theberge, a would-be lone wolf increasingly connected to a richly-realized network of friends and lovers. The pine-enclosed spaces and insular communities of Northern Maine are the setting for this ripped-from-the-headlines story of corruption, idealism, and betrayal. Cass's writing is as sparse and meticulous as Theberge's survey maps; revealing the side of Maine tourists never see in all its beauty and despair. A must-read.” —Julia Spencer-Fleming, NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author of At Midnight Comes the Cry

" Hard as a Headstone is a tour-de-force of unforgettable characters and a twisting plot that will keep you hooked late into the night. Truly, Richard Cass is a master of suspense. Long may he write!" —Gayle Lynds, NYTimes Bestselling Author of The Last Spymaster and co-founder of International Thriller Writers, Inc.

“ Hard as a Headstone makes a thrilling case for placing Richard J. Cass in the pantheon of New England crime writers. Cass’s eye for detail, ear for dialogue, and knack for crafting diabolical mysteries are sharper than ever—and mapmaker Ardmore Theberge is a compelling, if reluctant, hero. Here’s hoping there are ten more where this came from.” —Chris Holm, Anthony Award-winning author of The Killing Kind

Book signing | Q&A | Meet & Greet