Claire Booth's "Another Man's Ground"

Claire Booth is a former true crime writer, ghostwriter, and reporter. She lives in California. The Branson Beauty, featuring Sheriff Hank Worth, is her first novel.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of Another Man's Ground, the second Sheriff Hank Worth Mystery:

The Hank Worth series has three main recurring characters: Hank, the sheriff of my fictional Branson County, Missouri; his chief deputy, Sheila Turley; and young deputy Sam Karnes.

Hank has a very dry sense of humor and an innate kindness that both would need to come across on screen. He also has a Latina mother, and speaks Spanish fluently. Because of all that, I’d love to have Oscar Isaac cast as Hank. (He might have time in between the new Star Wars movies, right?)

Sheila is the sheriff’s department’s only African American deputy and one of the only women. She has a very tough outer shell as a result. She’s had to work twice as hard as anyone else to get where she is in law enforcement in the Ozarks. She’s also fantastic at her job, and regularly bails Hank out of situations. I think Octavia Spencer would be perfect. With her acting, she has the great ability to be both caring and tough as nails, which are traits Sheila has as well.

Sam, whom Hank has nicknamed “The Pup,” is a young, eager deputy who’s often assigned to help with Hank’s investigations. His physique – tall and lanky – is key to his character, so the actor who I’d dream cast needs to be the same. Logan Lerman from the Percy Jackson movies and The Perks of Being a Wallflower would fit the bill wonderfully. He can portray wide-eyed naiveté but still have that toughness that my Sam character needs to have.

Lastly, in Another Man’s Ground, there’s a key character named Jasper Kinney. He’s in his 70s, and he’s lived on his property in the Ozark woods his entire life. His motivations aren’t clear early on, but he’s a menacing presence in the book. The late Eli Wallach would have been perfect for that character. Since this is dream casting, I’m going to choose him anyway!

Visit Claire Booth's website.

--Marshal Zeringue