The Colonel's Tale: A Dassas Cormier Mystery

S. H. Baker
Zumaya Publications (2006)
ISBN 9781554103003
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (10/06)

Marshall’s Bayou Police Chief, Dassas Cormier, travels to Lake Charles to help his sister, Coralee, and her friend Colonel Jedidiah Gilmore.  Gilmore is a renowned writer that spins tales that are most believable.  He also is the only witness to a bank robbery and a murder.

During Gilmore’s short stay in Marshall’s Bayou, Dassas encounters mysterious happenings that seem to reflect around Gilmore.  In the meantime Dassas also spends quality time with his family and deals with local issues.  Dassas is well liked and respected in the community.

Colonel Gilmore, on the other hand, creates a following with his tales.  The tales are of Gilmore’s experiences, many being life or death encounters, and capture the attention of his listeners. Because of Gilmore’s tales, Dassas questions in his mind whether or not the testimony is correct. 

As the days went by, Dassas was convinced that Gilmore’s account of the robbery was not correct; he decided to go to Lake Charles to do some research.  As suspicions arise within some of the people Dassas spoke to, he encounters challenges.  With determination to prove his suspicions of how the robbery really came down he proceeds to set up the suspect.

By the end of the story, Dassas’s suspicions are founded and the real instigator of the bank robbery is apprehended.   The question is:  Who was the instigator?  Was it the Colonel or was it Walters, a suspicious man that appeared in Marshall’s Bayou? 

“The Colonel’s Tale” is an easy, smooth read.  For anyone that likes to read a clean, historical mystery, this is the book for them.  Baker created a plot that is easy to follow, yet intertwines the mystery that keeps you flipping pages wondering what will happen next.

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