First published 1998
Engineer Tory Travers expects routine structural damage when she investigates a ceiling collapse at an upscale El Paso residence. Instead, she finds two dead women and a living baby trapped in the debris. What appears to be a tragic accident takes a sinister turn when workers discover a hidden room within the house. Detective David Alvarez joins the investigation as disturbing links between the victims surface. The women shared more than their unfortunate fate. Travers and Alvarez must piece together why someone wanted both women dead and whether the baby was meant to survive. As they dig deeper into the victims' lives, the case becomes a race to understand the killer's motive before more lives are lost. The collapsed ceiling was not an accident but a carefully planned execution that nearly worked.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, detective
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: race-to-solve-the-case, unexpected-discovery
Setting: El Paso
Period: 21st-century
352 pages · Hardcover · Write Way Pub
Content warnings: death, violence