NEWS
Not
one, but two new books are forthcoming under
my name.
Stone Cold Dead
The
first is tentatively
titled Stone Cold Dead and
it is slated to
be published later this year by Arbutus Press, who published my Murder On Old Mission. This
new mystery offers a unique dual setting, moving between Brooklyn and
rural northern Michigan. Those locales accommodate two parallel
plots: one, starting in Brooklyn, involves Kelly Abrams’s
desperate search for her teenaged daughter who she fears is about to be
sexually abused by Michael, her ex-husband; the other, set in northern
Michigan, begins with the confession of Frankie Asebou, a Objibwe
woman, who says she murdered her husband to prevent his continuing
abuse of her. Kelly’s husband Dave, a lawyer, defends Frankie
with the help of the spiritual Livonia Walkingstick, an Ojibwe
storyteller as well as Kelly’s uncle John, a retired cop from
Chicago. While Dave seeks Frankie’s daughter Robin, who is the
key to the murder mystery, Kelly tracks her daughter and ex-husband
across Canada. The two plots converge in a thrilling conclusion
with Michael at the center of both.
Here
is a link to a fuller synopsis.
Salem Witch Trial Mysteries
The second, which I am now just completing is
the first of new mystery series, but this one is set at the time
of the Salem Witch
Trials, a period and event that has long fascinated me. (My
doctoral work was in New England Puritanism.) The crime solver in
this book, Rebecca Martin, is a suspected witch who is in reality a
folk healer. She is a widow, strongly attracted to Henry Linton,
the new, young minister of the town's church. For his part, he is
in a passionless marriage and also feels drawn to Rebecca. Their
feelings for each other simmer in this book and will continue on into
sequels if this series finds a market.