Book excerpt: The newest Henry Farrell mystery from the Edgar Award–winning author of Dry Bones in the Valley. A headless stranger is found in the woods of Wild Thyme, Pennsylvania, and all signs point to a man-killing bear. Officer Henry Farrell would just as soon leave this hunt to the Game Commission, but doubts arise when he discovers the victim was a retired investigator. What drew the investigator to sleepy Wild Thyme? Before Henry can find answers, his own nephew disappears into the hills. Then an old flame dies under suspicious circumstances, leaving Henry as the prime suspect. Torn between protecting his family and clearing his name, Henry fights to protect the most he’s ever had to lose. The Bramble and the Rose is the third book in the Henry Farrell series. Tom Bouman's Officer Farrell is first introduced in Dry Bones in the Valley, winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller.