Cold Rain

About the Book

Cold Rain is the 17th book in the Garth Ryland mystery series. Called an exemplary series hero by Publishers Weekly, Ryland lives and works in the small town of Oakalla, Wisconsin (“Lake Woebegone made sinister”) where passions run high, scars go deep, and the face of innocence wears a crooked grin. Ryland’s morning starts badly on a cold wet December morning and goes downhill from there, as the word comes out that detective Michael Higgins, Ryland’s friend and surrogate son, is missing in action. Helen Shirer is being stalked. When she sees someone lead her horse from her barn, she calls 911 for help. Michael takes Helen’s 911 call and then fails to arrive at her house or call in his position. That’s when Danny Palmer calls Garth and they go in search of him. When they find Michael’s 4Runner upside down in Owl Creek at the foot of Camp Collier, it plunges them into a dark mystery that is as deadly as it is deep. Who is Helen Shirer’s stalker and why is she being stalked? Where was Michael going when he took the call and why did he drive off Owl Creek bridge? Why does Michael’s captain, Ross Frazier, threaten and then try to stonewall Ryland? How does a fresh Christmas tree magically appear on the front porch of Michael’s widow and why does she now turn to Ryland for comfort after she has spurned him in the past? Why did John White Bear bring a weapon to school to show Helen Shirer, only to then be expelled by his principal? And who is trying to do Ryland great bodily harm, and why? These are only a few of the questions that he must answer if he is ever to get to the truth of Michael’s death. To further complicate matters, two of his most able allies, Danny Palmer and Ruth, Ryland’s housekeeper, are not at their best and have their own demons to slay. In this, one of his most harrowing journeys to date, Ryland must try to penetrate a heart of darkness that has no seams, only victims. And like the December rain that falls on Michael Higgins’ lifeless body, is as pure as it is cold.

About the Author

John R. Riggs is the son of Samuel H. Riggs (1913-2002) and Lucille Ruff Riggs (1918-2000) and the brother of C. A. Riggs, Prescott, Arizona. John was born February 27, 1945 in Beech Grove, Indiana, and in 1949 he and his family moved to Mulberry, Indiana, where they owned and operated Riggs Dairy Bar for a number of years. John attended Mulberry Schools (1951-1961) and graduated from Clinton Prairie High School in 1963. He credits his teachers at Mulberry and Clinton Prairie for their direction and inspiration and for grounding him in the fundamentals of thought and action so necessary for meeting the challenges of life. John then entered Indiana University, Bloomington, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and rode in the Little 500. While there he earned a BS in social studies and an MA in creative writing. He later attended the University of Michigan, studying conservation and environmental communications. On September 2, 1967, John married Cynthia Perkins (1945-2002), and their children are Heidi Zimmerman, Mansfield, Ohio and Shawn Riggs, Hastings, Nebraska. On July 1, 1988, he married Carole Gossett Anderson and their children are Flint Anderson, Coatesville and Susan Shorter, Spencer. Since 1971, John has lived in Putnam County, Indiana, currently on a small farm southeast of Greencastle. While there, he has worked as an English teacher, football coach, quality control foreman, carpenter, and wood-splitter. From 1979-1997 he assisted James R. Gammon of DePauw University with Gammon’s landmark research on the Wabash River. Presently, he works as a researcher for DePauw University Archives and mixes chemicals for Co-Alliance, Bainbridge. John is the author of 17 published books in the Garth Ryland mystery series, and the Bicentennial History bulletins for the Indiana United Methodist Church. He has also written River Rat, a coming of age novel, Me, Garth, and Alley Oop, a travel odyssey, Of Boys and Butterflies, his ongoing memoirs, and numerous essays.