DEAD FOR THE WINTER

The death of a charming man rocks Chloe Newcombe (Ghost Towns, 2002, etc.).

The Victim Advocate, at loose ends since her lover hightailed it to South America, had been considering an affair with Terry Barnett. Warm, appealing, easy to talk to, but troubled, the master carpenter lived in Prophecy, Arizona, 15 miles down the road from Old Dudley. When he mentioned a wife, she dropped the idea, but not before several onlookers saw them together, making her an obvious suspect when Terry is murdered. Of course, so is his wife, creative but mousy Heather, who might have been dallying with Damien, a young Adonis. On leave from her job counseling clients from the County Attorney’s Office after a miscalculation that left two dead, Chloe discovers in the process of trying to remove herself from Detective Flynn’s focus and help Heather that Terry was obsessed with April Matasky, a woman he loved 20 years ago. So did his brother Fred and maybe even his best friend Mike. When Fred, who hadn’t spoken to Terry in all those years, flies in from the family home in Ohio determined to meet Heather and prove she killed his brother, Chloe delves into the past with him, eventually uncovering a few of Fred’s own secrets.

A shaky denouement, but there’s not a female alive who won’t respond to Chloe’s gut reactions and radar for off-kilter romance, making this a surefire woman’s book.