Books Books: Mystery

What He Left Behind

May 24, 2025May 24, 2025 by onemoreexclamation

Welcome to the What He Left Behind by Benjamin Bradley book tour hosted by Suzy Approved Book Tours.

About What He Left Behind

Title: What He Left Behind

Author: Benjamin Bradley

Released: April 29, 2025

Find it: Amazon

Oak Hill, North Carolina is a sleepy community where nothing exciting ever happens, a town so tiny it has no room for secrets. So when a stranger is found murdered in a cornfield, Detective Grace Bingham is forced to partner with Jacob Sawyer—a big city detective who broke her heart and fled the town years prior—in order to uncover the explosive truth.

As Grace ID’s the Jane Doe, her identity points toward their tragic case from fifteen years ago and the powerful Dockery family. Grace and Sawyer race to piece together their case, armed with new evidence for the first time in decades, even if the town has turned against them. After all, everybody has a secret they’d kill to keep.

Book Blurbs

“What He Left Behind is a compelling, heartfelt debut, announcing Benjamin Bradley’s welcome arrival on the literary scene. This whodunnit expertly weaves secrets in small-town Appalachia, delivering a jaw-dropping conclusion that’s well worth your time. Bradley has the goods, and I can’t wait to see what he cooks up next.” – Scott Blackburn, author of It Dies with You

“Benjamin Bradley has his finger on the pulse of small-town life: the thorny relationships between the haves and the have-nots, the currency of gossip, the distrust of outsiders, and the casual familiarity everyone has with the details of each other’s lives. When the body of a young woman is discovered, Detective Grace Bingham knows she will have to kick open some doors that have long been closed. And some doors want to stay shut.

Heartbreak and tragedy from the past collide with the present, and no one in Grace’s life, including herself, is safe. Bradley uses the conventions of a murder mystery to conduct his own autopsy of Oak Hill and its residents. A worthy addition to the Southern Gothic tradition.” —Christopher Swann, author of the Faulkner Family Thriller series

Review for What He Left Behind

If you’re a fan of small-town mysteries where the local diner serves up more gossip than coffee, What He Left Behind is your next obsession. This isn’t a high-octane thriller—it’s a mystery: layered, character-driven, and rooted deep in a town that feels so real you’ll swear you’ve driven through it before.

The story follows Grace, a former local who’s come home with more baggage than just her suitcase. When a new crime stirs up an old case, Grace finds herself tangled in emotions she thought she left behind. There’s a dash of second-chance romance, and let me just say, the “will they-won’t they” tension is paramount.

The best part? The town itself—quirky, stubborn, and full of secrets. You can practically smell the rain on the pavement and hear the creaky floorboards of the sheriff’s office. The characters? Endearing, flawed, and just trying to do right by their community, even when local politics and long-held grudges get in the way.

If you’re in the mood for a story that mixes heartfelt relationships with an intriguing double-layered case, grab a blanket, a cup of something warm, and dive in.

About The Author

Benjamin Bradley is a member of both Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He’s the author of the Shepard & Kelly Mystery series through Indies United Publishing House and his short fiction has appeared in literary magazines including Reckon Review and Flash Fiction Magazine. He works in public health and homelessness and lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife, their cat Fox, and their dog Harper.

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