by Joanne Fluke
Part of Hannah Swensen, book 25
First published 2020
Hannah Swensen cuts short her California trip when Detective Lonnie Murphy faces murder charges back in Minnesota. Lonnie remembers drinking at a local bar and helping an intoxicated woman get home safely. He recalls assisting her to her bedroom but nothing more until he woke on her couch the next morning. When he checked on the woman, he found her dead. Now Lonnie sits in jail with fragmented memories of that fatal night. The case presents Hannah with her toughest challenge yet. Lonnie's brother Rick and his partner Mike Kingston have been removed from the investigation due to conflicts of interest. Hannah must work alone to gather evidence that might free an innocent man. She faces the nearly impossible task of proving the innocence of someone who cannot remember the crucial hours when murder occurred. The investigation forces Hannah to piece together a puzzle with missing pieces while racing against time to prevent Lonnie's conviction.
Genres: mystery, crime, detective, mystery-thriller, cozy-mystery
Vibes: cozy, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-detective, innocence-at-stake, race-against-time
Setting: California, Minnesota
341 pages · Hardcover · Kensington