FEVER IN THE DARK

A video gone viral forces a couple to confront one member’s past and decide whether it means they can still have a future together.

Cordelia Thorn is no stranger to drama. Her friend Jane Lawless is a part-time private eye who’s relied on Cordelia’s help in a number of cases. Though Cordelia’s job is to run Minneapolis’ Thorn Lester Playhouse, she’s drawn to mysteries like the one involving her stage manager, Fiona McGuy. Fi’s just returned from a trip celebrating her one-year anniversary with her wife, Annie Johnson, and the two are shocked when they’re greeted by strangers at their house. Fi’s sweet but very personal proposal to Annie has somehow gone viral, and folks are lined up to praise or protest the happy couple. Though Fi doesn’t understand the big deal, Annie is horrified. So Fi asks Cordelia and Jane to try to figure out which emails they’ve received are from admiring new friends and which from frightening foes. When Annie’s estranged family appears out of nowhere, Fi starts to get a better idea why Annie’s been so afraid of the video’s internet reach. Apparently Annie’s been all but hiding from her family, and their arrival may be the prelude to a day of reckoning with one family member with whom Annie had a bad run-in in the past. All the while Jane is investigating Annie's and Fi’s lives, her own life seems to be about to change, as an old flame returns, determined to rewrite her story with Jane.

Hart (The Grave Soul, 2015, etc.) connects the events of the main story to a brief opening chapter presenting a savage murder, leading readers up to the attack and beyond while revealing the potential murderer’s motive.