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Tate Drawdy
A dead priest… and a girl
Amid the engravings of the evangelists, the stained glass, the marble, the serenity of Savannah’s Cathedral of St. John the Baptist… two naked bodies. One of the victims is a priest; the other, a teenage girl.
And now John Robert Griffin, a savage killer, wants to help Tate Drawdy solve the crime. That way, there will be more of Drawdy left for him.
Drawdy must survive a horrifying clash with the priest’s killer in time to face Griffin. But something’s wrong. Drawdy’s beginning to suspect someone else out there wants him dead. And he’s starting to make mistakes.
Amid the engravings of the evangelists, the stained glass, the marble, the serenity of Savannah’s Cathedral of St. John the Baptist… two naked bodies. One of the victims is a priest; the other, a teenage girl.
And now John Robert Griffin, a savage killer, wants to help Tate Drawdy solve the crime. That way, there will be more of Drawdy left for him.
Drawdy must survive a horrifying clash with the priest’s killer in time to face Griffin. But something’s wrong. Drawdy’s beginning to suspect someone else out there wants him dead. And he’s starting to make mistakes.
294 pages, Paperback
Published November 5, 2017
4 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Michael Ludden
7 books26 followersMichael Ludden is a former Deputy Managing Editor at the Orlando Sentinel, where he directed a year-long investigation that won a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting.
Projects he wrote or edited won numerous awards over a 25-year newspaper career.
He’s written for magazines, advertising and marketing firms, edited books and been a senior writer/editor at CNN’s Headline News.
He grew up in Mountain Lakes, N.J., and has a B.A. in English Literature from Washington College. He and his wife live in Atlanta, where he’s working on another Tate Drawdy thriller.
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Tate-Drawdy-Mi...
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tate...
Author's website:
http://michaelludden.com/
Author's blog:
http://michaelludden.net/
Projects he wrote or edited won numerous awards over a 25-year newspaper career.
He’s written for magazines, advertising and marketing firms, edited books and been a senior writer/editor at CNN’s Headline News.
He grew up in Mountain Lakes, N.J., and has a B.A. in English Literature from Washington College. He and his wife live in Atlanta, where he’s working on another Tate Drawdy thriller.
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Tate-Drawdy-Mi...
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tate...
Author's website:
http://michaelludden.com/
Author's blog:
http://michaelludden.net/
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 3, 2017
Thank you to author Michael Ludden for this signed copy of Tate Drawdy, and to Goodreads for hosting the opportunity through the First Reads program. Mr. Ludden even took the time to send along a nicely done letter. Nice touch.
I really like it. Well written, nice set of characters, good pace. Sprinkled about is some light humor, which is always appreciated. Some may find the sentence structure a bit choppy with the use of short, to the point sentences, but overall this is an easy read, and the book is a comfortable length.
Just a couple items of note: Personal preference, I prefer the book title to be the focus of the jacket cover. Otherwise I like the cover; Interestingly enough, based on the authors background, there are several editing issues. Relatively speaking, compared with many books today, a minor issue, but still.
A really nice read, I highly recommend this book to others. A good read.
I really like it. Well written, nice set of characters, good pace. Sprinkled about is some light humor, which is always appreciated. Some may find the sentence structure a bit choppy with the use of short, to the point sentences, but overall this is an easy read, and the book is a comfortable length.
Just a couple items of note: Personal preference, I prefer the book title to be the focus of the jacket cover. Otherwise I like the cover; Interestingly enough, based on the authors background, there are several editing issues. Relatively speaking, compared with many books today, a minor issue, but still.
A really nice read, I highly recommend this book to others. A good read.
August 13, 2021
Loved it! Fast paced, well-defined characters, and a fun ride! Looking forward to many more in this series.
November 21, 2017
BLUE PLATE SPECIAL: LEAN AND LINEAR MAYHEM WITH WISECRACKS
Like a tasty meat-and-three plate at a Southern diner, there’s something simple and satisfying that sticks to the reader’s ribs in the straight-up way author Michael Ludden serves up his latest hard-boiled crime thriller, TATE DRAWDY.
This is a prequel to Ludden’s first crime novel, ALFREDO’S LUCK, the book that introduced readers to Drawdy as a loose-cannon, take-no-prisoners Miami-Dade County detective. That book was a sweeping and violent tale with a host of characters and a complex plot that portrayed the nasty politics of Miami’s Cuban exiles and captured the high and sleazy weirdness of Florida without diving into caricature.
In this book, Ludden writes a leaner more linear story about Drawdy’s earlier years as a young detective in Savannah, a rich boy from Atlanta who decided to become a cop instead of following the easier and more comfortable course his parents had in mind for him. Drawdy is still learning his trade from an older mentor, Jimmy Patterson, but shows flashes of the smarts, the penchant for violence and the instinctive full-bore pursuit of his quarry seen in the author’s first book.
He’s also a wiseass, the kind of guy who pisses people off just by walking into a room, then doubles down by being blunt and refusing to back down or compromise. There’s no go-along-to-get-along in Tate Drawdy and it gets him in early trouble with some corrupt cops on the force, providing one of the main threads to this violent tale. It also gets him shot at and beat up -- a lot.
The other thread runs through the murder of Precious Gardner, a young black woman, picked up while walking home from the Piggly Wiggly by four drifters who toy and torture her before stabbing her to death. The drifters are led by a megalomaniacal psychopath named John Robert Griffin, who quickly singles out Drawdy for adversarial attention of the personal kind.
Throw in the double murder of a priest and his teenaged girl lover, Griffin’s escape from a doctor’s office and Drawdy’s pursuit of the killer to his hometown near Pittsburgh, where the young cop meets a crew of retired detectives who like to keep a hand in the law enforcement game, and you’ve got a rollicking tale with plenty of gunplay, suspense, ribald banter and plot twists that brings you to the final chapter way too soon.
Ludden has created a winning character in Drawdy. Pick up both of his books and hope he writes another one real soon.
Like a tasty meat-and-three plate at a Southern diner, there’s something simple and satisfying that sticks to the reader’s ribs in the straight-up way author Michael Ludden serves up his latest hard-boiled crime thriller, TATE DRAWDY.
This is a prequel to Ludden’s first crime novel, ALFREDO’S LUCK, the book that introduced readers to Drawdy as a loose-cannon, take-no-prisoners Miami-Dade County detective. That book was a sweeping and violent tale with a host of characters and a complex plot that portrayed the nasty politics of Miami’s Cuban exiles and captured the high and sleazy weirdness of Florida without diving into caricature.
In this book, Ludden writes a leaner more linear story about Drawdy’s earlier years as a young detective in Savannah, a rich boy from Atlanta who decided to become a cop instead of following the easier and more comfortable course his parents had in mind for him. Drawdy is still learning his trade from an older mentor, Jimmy Patterson, but shows flashes of the smarts, the penchant for violence and the instinctive full-bore pursuit of his quarry seen in the author’s first book.
He’s also a wiseass, the kind of guy who pisses people off just by walking into a room, then doubles down by being blunt and refusing to back down or compromise. There’s no go-along-to-get-along in Tate Drawdy and it gets him in early trouble with some corrupt cops on the force, providing one of the main threads to this violent tale. It also gets him shot at and beat up -- a lot.
The other thread runs through the murder of Precious Gardner, a young black woman, picked up while walking home from the Piggly Wiggly by four drifters who toy and torture her before stabbing her to death. The drifters are led by a megalomaniacal psychopath named John Robert Griffin, who quickly singles out Drawdy for adversarial attention of the personal kind.
Throw in the double murder of a priest and his teenaged girl lover, Griffin’s escape from a doctor’s office and Drawdy’s pursuit of the killer to his hometown near Pittsburgh, where the young cop meets a crew of retired detectives who like to keep a hand in the law enforcement game, and you’ve got a rollicking tale with plenty of gunplay, suspense, ribald banter and plot twists that brings you to the final chapter way too soon.
Ludden has created a winning character in Drawdy. Pick up both of his books and hope he writes another one real soon.
December 18, 2017
I received this title from the author, Michael Ludden, as a giveaway win on Goodreads. The following review is in no way affected by the gift.
A further aside: there are no spoiler alerts contained herein. I don't typically feel the need to recount every twist and turn of a book's plot. That responsibility is that of Mr. Ludden's in my opinion, especially as "Tate Drawdy" is classified as a "mystery," "thriller," and detective fiction, and one he is more than equipped to shoulder.
Now comes my responsibility. Yes, if I wait and think a bit longer, I would write a better review and learn how to format it properly. Well, I'd write a better review.
I can't recall the last time I enjoyed a work of detective fiction as much as I've enjoyed this title. Mr. Ludden is very, very smart and an extremely good writer. He's paid his dues in another career and didn't write his first work of art during in-school detention in elementary school. Because of this -
I may mistakenly believe - he doesn't feel the need of so many other mystery/thriller writers to literally fill-in all the blanks, answer all the questions of mankind, and dump a bunch of happy, sappy endings in the last eight pages of his book.
He devised a creative plot and didn't confuse doing so with having to trespass multiple continents and triple switchbacks and/or betrayals. He wrote enough - not more - to flesh out characters who quickly move from the page to "real people." He has not confused characterization with DNA-sequencing, rather, he's a master of quick but surprisingly full descriptions as well as snippets of dialogue that shows the fine detail of who's who. And, he's done it rather uniquely these days: by telling a good tale in the tradition of cops, newspapermen and some anointed writers. Finally, Mr. Ludden has paid his readers the highest of compliments in not leading us by the hand through his book's every turn.
In a final declaration regarding this win and subsequent review, I actually purchased a Kindle-version of "Tate Drawdy." I did so when I quickly recognized that I rather liked the book and wanted to preserve it and the personally autographed front leaf. I also plan on purchasing subsequent titles in the series as Detective Drawdy and Mr. Ludden's writing both were so damned enjoyable this time around.
I suppose the author didn't "buy" this review after all.
A further aside: there are no spoiler alerts contained herein. I don't typically feel the need to recount every twist and turn of a book's plot. That responsibility is that of Mr. Ludden's in my opinion, especially as "Tate Drawdy" is classified as a "mystery," "thriller," and detective fiction, and one he is more than equipped to shoulder.
Now comes my responsibility. Yes, if I wait and think a bit longer, I would write a better review and learn how to format it properly. Well, I'd write a better review.
I can't recall the last time I enjoyed a work of detective fiction as much as I've enjoyed this title. Mr. Ludden is very, very smart and an extremely good writer. He's paid his dues in another career and didn't write his first work of art during in-school detention in elementary school. Because of this -
I may mistakenly believe - he doesn't feel the need of so many other mystery/thriller writers to literally fill-in all the blanks, answer all the questions of mankind, and dump a bunch of happy, sappy endings in the last eight pages of his book.
He devised a creative plot and didn't confuse doing so with having to trespass multiple continents and triple switchbacks and/or betrayals. He wrote enough - not more - to flesh out characters who quickly move from the page to "real people." He has not confused characterization with DNA-sequencing, rather, he's a master of quick but surprisingly full descriptions as well as snippets of dialogue that shows the fine detail of who's who. And, he's done it rather uniquely these days: by telling a good tale in the tradition of cops, newspapermen and some anointed writers. Finally, Mr. Ludden has paid his readers the highest of compliments in not leading us by the hand through his book's every turn.
In a final declaration regarding this win and subsequent review, I actually purchased a Kindle-version of "Tate Drawdy." I did so when I quickly recognized that I rather liked the book and wanted to preserve it and the personally autographed front leaf. I also plan on purchasing subsequent titles in the series as Detective Drawdy and Mr. Ludden's writing both were so damned enjoyable this time around.
I suppose the author didn't "buy" this review after all.
December 11, 2021
I rated "Tate Drawdy" Five Stars, in spite of having several complaints about it. Overall, it's that good, so it deserves the rating. I will list the complaints along with the compliments.
It's a good story, looking into the lives of a wildly diverse set of characters. I like the characters, and Ludden paints excellent portraits of them. Perhaps it's the characters and the author's characterizations of them that I like the most in this novel.
The basic plot of the narrative follows our protagonist, Detective Drawdy, through his exploits on the Savannah PD. Since I love Savannah, I liked the primary location of the story immediately. Our detective is not an ordinary cop, in that he's from a very affluent family in Atlanta, who didn't want the life his very affluent and successful family had in mind for him. He's educated and smart, even though some of his actions make us question his street smarts.
Getting into the plot, we find several intersecting storylines--personal and professional. They're all interesting, but here also is one of my complaints. Lots of stories jump around, and good novels usually keep the story moving smoothly. Ludden's jumping around is a little bumping and disjointed. I found myself having to really pay attention to stay with the movement of the story and characters.
Another complaint is that Ludden's writing style is not to my liking. His prose is choppy, and there's lots of one word sentences, well, chopped up and thrown at us for no apparent reason. I almost expect that in the dialog of some characters, but the story narrative isn't enhanced by it.
That's enough complaining. I liked the story and the characters. I'd like to read more about Tate Drawdy, and to my good fortune there's another story about him, "Alfredo's Luck," just waiting to be read.
It's a good story, looking into the lives of a wildly diverse set of characters. I like the characters, and Ludden paints excellent portraits of them. Perhaps it's the characters and the author's characterizations of them that I like the most in this novel.
The basic plot of the narrative follows our protagonist, Detective Drawdy, through his exploits on the Savannah PD. Since I love Savannah, I liked the primary location of the story immediately. Our detective is not an ordinary cop, in that he's from a very affluent family in Atlanta, who didn't want the life his very affluent and successful family had in mind for him. He's educated and smart, even though some of his actions make us question his street smarts.
Getting into the plot, we find several intersecting storylines--personal and professional. They're all interesting, but here also is one of my complaints. Lots of stories jump around, and good novels usually keep the story moving smoothly. Ludden's jumping around is a little bumping and disjointed. I found myself having to really pay attention to stay with the movement of the story and characters.
Another complaint is that Ludden's writing style is not to my liking. His prose is choppy, and there's lots of one word sentences, well, chopped up and thrown at us for no apparent reason. I almost expect that in the dialog of some characters, but the story narrative isn't enhanced by it.
That's enough complaining. I liked the story and the characters. I'd like to read more about Tate Drawdy, and to my good fortune there's another story about him, "Alfredo's Luck," just waiting to be read.
March 2, 2018
Title – Tate Drawdy
Author – Michael Ludden
Genre – Suspense, Thriller
260 Amazon Pages
Rating 5 stars out of 5 Posted 3/2/2018
No. 10 - 2018
My Impressions: Hard boiled action, vigilante justice.
Main Characters:
Tate Drawdy – Savannah Ga. Detective
Jimmy Patterson - Detective
John Robert Griffin – psychopath.
Tate Drawdy, the tough, handsome new detective in town is soon engaged in working three separate cases. He didn't count on help from a 'friendly' psychopathic killer who also has Tate in his sights. The psychopath, a demented nun, and a sexual predator priest add color and interest to this rough and tumble tale.
Sometimes Tate's worst enemy is himself as he plays lone wolf and gets deeper in trouble than he can handle.
Tate's no-nonsense approach to solving problems draws the wrath of a group of rogue officers who have their own vision of police work. To those officer's dismay, Tate is quickly 'adopted' by an experienced and honest Detective.
Toward the end, Tate meets a group of retired out-of-town officers who enjoy thwarting the bad guys by 'assisting' active officers. Their off the books actions get the job done in exciting and imaginative style.
The editing and sentence structure of Tate Drawdy is excellent.
The author has interspersed short, choppy fragments and done it well. It gives a fresh cadence to the story.
The plot is excellent, involved and thrilling.
The descriptions of Savannah and its old mansions added to the feeling of being in the old south.
Character development is thorough for the two main characters and more than adequate for sub-characters.
I highly recommend Tate Drawdy for crime story fans. Try it. You won't be disappointed.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Michael Ludden
Genre – Suspense, Thriller
260 Amazon Pages
Rating 5 stars out of 5 Posted 3/2/2018
No. 10 - 2018
My Impressions: Hard boiled action, vigilante justice.
Main Characters:
Tate Drawdy – Savannah Ga. Detective
Jimmy Patterson - Detective
John Robert Griffin – psychopath.
Tate Drawdy, the tough, handsome new detective in town is soon engaged in working three separate cases. He didn't count on help from a 'friendly' psychopathic killer who also has Tate in his sights. The psychopath, a demented nun, and a sexual predator priest add color and interest to this rough and tumble tale.
Sometimes Tate's worst enemy is himself as he plays lone wolf and gets deeper in trouble than he can handle.
Tate's no-nonsense approach to solving problems draws the wrath of a group of rogue officers who have their own vision of police work. To those officer's dismay, Tate is quickly 'adopted' by an experienced and honest Detective.
Toward the end, Tate meets a group of retired out-of-town officers who enjoy thwarting the bad guys by 'assisting' active officers. Their off the books actions get the job done in exciting and imaginative style.
The editing and sentence structure of Tate Drawdy is excellent.
The author has interspersed short, choppy fragments and done it well. It gives a fresh cadence to the story.
The plot is excellent, involved and thrilling.
The descriptions of Savannah and its old mansions added to the feeling of being in the old south.
Character development is thorough for the two main characters and more than adequate for sub-characters.
I highly recommend Tate Drawdy for crime story fans. Try it. You won't be disappointed.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
April 6, 2018
Tate Drawdy is a detective novel with style. It also has suspense, charm, wit, fun and a dash of hilarity for good measure. Set in the iconic city of Savannah, where beauty and mystery go hand in hand with tradition and quirkiness, a young and fit police officer, Tate Drawdy, jogs through the city and story leading us on a thrilling chase of a really bad guy, as well as trying to solve the mystery of who killed the priest. Tate is well-to-do, nice looking, confident and smart. He’s also impetuous and inexperienced, but he’s got the goods on rolling with the punches (literally) and making friends with the right people. The characters he attaches himself to are a fellow police officer on-his-way-to-the-top who lives in a Southern mansion and likes to drink a lot of beer, a juvenile officer who is as sweet as she is an expert with kids, a pretty waitress who doesn’t like to waste time on the wrong guy, and some retired cops who still enjoy chasing bad guys.
The writing of the book is succinct and gets right to the point. There’s no messing around with alliteration or assonance. In lieu of trying to impress the reader with big words and grammar usage, this talented writer employs beautiful brevity to get you moving along in the story as the plot thickens. To encounter this kind of writing is a gift!
I plan to buy Tate Drawdy for a couple of friends who I meet with occasionally for book club and look forward to rehashing the fun of the story with them.
Mr. Ludden, please write another story with Tate Drawdy.....and soon!
The writing of the book is succinct and gets right to the point. There’s no messing around with alliteration or assonance. In lieu of trying to impress the reader with big words and grammar usage, this talented writer employs beautiful brevity to get you moving along in the story as the plot thickens. To encounter this kind of writing is a gift!
I plan to buy Tate Drawdy for a couple of friends who I meet with occasionally for book club and look forward to rehashing the fun of the story with them.
Mr. Ludden, please write another story with Tate Drawdy.....and soon!
December 18, 2017
Mike’s first book ‘Alfredo’s Luck’ was good. ‘Tate Drawdy’ is great! Ludden spends time early in the book developing the characters then the action begins. I really like how he weaves multiple plots together to keep the excitement high and the reader engaged. Having personally spent considerable time in all the locations the action takes place, I was impressed with the accuracy of Mike’s descriptions of the locales and how wonderfully he brings out the unique charm of each city.
What flabbergasted me in a positive way was Ludden’s deep knowledge of so many subjects and how he charms the reader with his descriptions. The man knows psychology, food, clothing, architecture, cars, police workings, libations, and so much more and Mike discloses his knowledge in fascinating and minute detail!
I love books built around good relationships and clever solutions to daunting dilemmas and Mike does not disappoint on either count.
Thanks Mike, how about you write another one for us soon, OK?
What flabbergasted me in a positive way was Ludden’s deep knowledge of so many subjects and how he charms the reader with his descriptions. The man knows psychology, food, clothing, architecture, cars, police workings, libations, and so much more and Mike discloses his knowledge in fascinating and minute detail!
I love books built around good relationships and clever solutions to daunting dilemmas and Mike does not disappoint on either count.
Thanks Mike, how about you write another one for us soon, OK?
May 5, 2020
“You may want to lock the doors and turn on the lights (don’t bite your fingernails) as Michael Ludden takes you on a tension-filled detective story that will keep you begging for more until the last page. In “Tate Drawdy,” the author creates detail-packed scenes that come alive and make you feel like you are right there hanging on for dear life along with detective Drawdy who seems to step into one crime scene after the other before stepping into a frightening hellhole in which he is the victim. Through all of the plots and subplots that mark this outstanding story, you can feel the drama, smell the blood and think you have it all figured out, but you may be wrong. Ludden’s skills as a story-teller are remarkable. He does a superb job of developing the characters of both cops and killers. Don’t miss this one!”- Ken H. Fortenberry, author of Flight 7 is Missing: The Search for My Father’s Killer and Kill the Messenger
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July 26, 2021Tate Drawdy
With Savannah as the main setting, Mr Ludden’s Tate DRAWDY draws one into this police crime thriller with non-stop action and well described list of colorful characters to help anchor the story. ALFREDO’S LUCK was a homerun #1 in South Florida and just up the coast to Savannah, Mr Ludden swings and hits a second homerun #2 with TATE DRAWDY. What a great way to spend lockdown. Well done. Looks like Tales of the Morgue is my next read.” I write as Antonios Ampatzis, but known as Jerry Gardner, DDS
With Savannah as the main setting, Mr Ludden’s Tate DRAWDY draws one into this police crime thriller with non-stop action and well described list of colorful characters to help anchor the story. ALFREDO’S LUCK was a homerun #1 in South Florida and just up the coast to Savannah, Mr Ludden swings and hits a second homerun #2 with TATE DRAWDY. What a great way to spend lockdown. Well done. Looks like Tales of the Morgue is my next read.” I write as Antonios Ampatzis, but known as Jerry Gardner, DDS
November 15, 2017
Tate Drawdy is a new detective in Savannah with murders to solve and a savage killer who wants to help him. What could possibly go wrong?
This thriller, with it’s intriguing characters and perfect setting, will keep you captivated until the very end. I couldn’t put this book down!
If you enjoyed this book, read Alfredo’s Luck by author Michael Ludden for more Tate Drawdy escapades. Can’t wait for the next one!!
This thriller, with it’s intriguing characters and perfect setting, will keep you captivated until the very end. I couldn’t put this book down!
If you enjoyed this book, read Alfredo’s Luck by author Michael Ludden for more Tate Drawdy escapades. Can’t wait for the next one!!
November 23, 2020
Wow...fast paced with lots of surprises. Ludden has an interesting narrative style that really keeps the story moving. Descriptions of place are superb, and the clipped dialogue really works with his characters. Keep working on that new thriller, as we want to hear more from Tate Drawdy!
Tate Drawdy
Tate Drawdy
August 18, 2021
Violent and Thoughtless
Not much like Parker's Spencer. Lots of violence, not much thinking. Not for women. If you like shooting and torture, go for it.
Not much like Parker's Spencer. Lots of violence, not much thinking. Not for women. If you like shooting and torture, go for it.
December 30, 2020
Absorbing, gritty, well- paced—-and I loved the Low Country details! Tate is a great character and the villain? Complex and very, very creepy.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews