First published 1995
Police Chief Susan Wren faces her worst nightmare when Dr. Dorothy Barrington is murdered in her office. The shooting critically wounds eleven-year-old Jen Bryan, who was spending the weekend in Susan's care while her mother traveled. What begins as routine police work transforms into something deeply personal. Susan investigates the Barrington family, four doctors who practice medicine together in their small Kansas town. The victim's siblings present a facade of respectability and unity, but Dorothy's death exposes buried secrets and long-simmering tensions. As Susan digs deeper, the family's carefully constructed image crumbles. The investigation unleashes chaos in the quiet community, spreading fear among residents who thought they knew their neighbors. Susan must navigate not only the complex family dynamics but also her position as an outsider and a woman in a job where she struggles for acceptance. With Jen fighting for her life and a killer still free, Susan carries the weight of personal responsibility alongside her professional duty.
Genres: mystery, crime, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: outsider-protagonist, personal-responsibility
Setting: Kansas
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
295 pages · ebook · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: violence