EPIPHANY'S MURDER

A woman’s death leads a private investigator down a dangerous path.

Grieving mother Sophia Marque hires PI Jake Powers to investigate the mysterious death of her daughter, Epiphany, who drowned six months ago. The case has dried up with the police, and Sophia suspects she was murdered by her boyfriend, Bill Cousins. Epiphany, a young woman with big goals, told her mother she was afraid shortly before she died. Jake starts his investigation and quickly finds his first lead goes nowhere: Bill Cousins has a solid alibi. The PI continues to hunt for clues, but no suspects emerge. Epiphany’s friends say everyone loved her, including her co-workers (she interned for the speaker of the California State Assembly). However, co-worker Lucia Orozco mentions something work-related was bothering Epiphany shortly before she disappeared. She noticed several closed-door meetings occurred after she’d mentioned she was fearful. Especially concerning is that Sophia previously hired another investigator for this case—but he was killed. Jake tries to unearth what the previous detective found and is chased and questioned by the authorities. As he digs deeper at the California State Assembly, he discovers that several players, including the speaker himself, may be hiding something big. Rosskopf’s talent for writing vivid action scenes keeps the tensions high, and realistic, surprising plot points keep the pages turning. Jake is battle-scarred and experienced enough to make a convincing tough guy investigator. Unfortunately, long passages of heavy exposition check the pace. The mystery would have been better served if the backstories had been more seamlessly integrated.

A capable lead and exciting mystery hobbled somewhat by gawky exposition.