COLD MOON HOME

A waitress finds herself involved in two dangerous mysteries.

Young widow Abby Silvernale (The Dark End of Town, 2006), who rents out her house while living in a trailer with two dogs, makes ends meet by working as a waitress at the InnBetween and doing odd jobs. One of the oddest is her stint as an amanuensis for Norman, an elderly sculptor suffering from early stage Alzheimer’s. Abby’s already met his foster daughter, sexpot author Germaine LeClair, who recently received a mysterious note blaming Norman for the death of his wife Wanda. Germaine and her sister Athena are still wrestling with issues going back to their birth mother, their indifferent foster father, his blood daughter Maddie and Wanda’s alcoholism. As she becomes more involved with the dysfunctional family, Abby tries to dredge up information from the past. Meantime, her boss and friend Dulcie has hired a new dishwasher at the Inn who gives the staff the creeps but seduces Dulcie mentally and physically. His control over her allows him to make unpopular changes. Soon an accusation of theft sets the formerly cheerful staff at each other’s throats. Abby’s determination to find out the truth about Norman’s family, the theft and the unsavory dishwasher’s background puts her in a life-threatening situation.

A gritty heroine, a scary plot and a realistic picture of small-town life.