“There’s this fellow out in the woods.”
“Out in the woods?”
“Yessir, right next to the Scout hut, right at the bottom of Hodo’s Bluff.”
“What’s this fellow doing?”
“He’s not doing nothing, sir. He’s dead.”
“You ever seen a dead person before, boy?”
“No sir.”
“Well how do you know he’s dead?”
“He’s nekkid sir, And there’s ants in his eyes…”

Chiefs is a masterpiece. I have not read any of Stuart Woods’ other books, but this one gripped me completely and fully.

It is full of southern imagery, and describes a half century of Georgia townspeople in the town of Delano, almost from its inception in 1919. Borrowing from the writings of William Faulkner and the crime files of John Wayne Gacy, the book reaches out and grabs you, and doesn’t let go until the final page is turned.

Hugh Holmes is the president of the Bank of Delano and the chairman of the city council in 1919. He needs a chief of police, but isn’t sure who to hire for the job. Going with his gut instinct he hires a farmer, Will Henry Lee, instead of war veteran Francis (known to everyone as Foxy) Funderburke. Will Henry proves to be a decent upright fellow, and shows remarkable aptitude for the job with no training. He relies on common sense and good moral values to keep the town on an even keel.

We also meet Will Henry’s wife Carrie, and his two children, Billy and Eloise. Around town, there are Dr. Mudter; Butts, the wife beater; Skeeter Willis, the sheriff of Meriweather County; Lamar Maddox, the undertaker; Idus Bray, the peach farmer and landlord; Hoss Spence, the evil bigoted landlord; and plenty of other folks. Among the sharecroppers are Robert and Flossie and Jesse and Nellie Cole. It is a true slice of life in the South of the 20th century, from the politics to the race relations, from tenant farming to civil rights.

The police chief job is relatively easy to begin with. Will Henry foils a bank robbery, and keeps the peace pretty easily. Until Brother Maynard finds a dead naked boy in the woods. A fall killed him. Initially, Will Henry suspects the Klan, but cannot link them to the crime. Then his investigations begin taking him where someone does not want him to go. Will Henry is killed in the line of duty.

Meanwhile, Delano sees veterans return from another World War, and life goes on.
The story of Will Henry’s successors comprises the rest of the book. His papers, stored in his old desk, resurface every few years, and another police chief takes on the case of searching for the killer of several hitchhiking boys who passed through Delano.

Just about the time you think the crimes might be solved and the mystery revealed, another police chief is replaced, and the search begins again. You can practically feel the kudzu creeping in the years between. The town has no idea of the evil that exists there for close to fifty years. Until the crime is finally solved. To tell you any more would be to give away too much. There are several intricate plot devices I don’t want to reveal.

This is one of the books that I admire based solely on the strength of the plot structure. Another is Donald Stanwood’s The Memory of Eva Ryker. Another is Caleb Carr’s The Alienist. Each of the writers has researched their time period really well, so that they can insert their characters into that place and time, and have them interact with actual real people. In Chiefs it is FDR and Kennedy. In Eva Ryker, it is the passengers of the Titanic. In Chiefs, it is Teddy Roosevelt.

I fully recommend this book. And believe it or not, I also recommend the miniseries.
It is one of the few TV events that actually live up to the promise of the book. It was made in 1984, and stars Charlton Heston, Tess Harper, Victoria Tennant, Wayne Rogers, and Brad Davis.

Reviews of Chiefs:
New York Times -- “Fascinating! Compelling!”
Publishers Weekly—“Riveting…Has bestseller written written all over it!”
Pat Conroy (author of Prince of Tides)-- "Woods has written a classic!"


Recommended: Yes