First published 1997
Katherine Driscoll faces financial ruin. She owes $91,000 and has only three weeks before losing her home, her business, and even her dog. Then a letter arrives from the father who abandoned her thirty years ago. He offers to pay her debts in exchange for one favor. Katherine drives to Austin to learn what he wants, but she arrives too late. Her father lies dead from what police call a freak accident. Katherine refuses to accept their explanation. She digs through his cryptic notes and uncovers family secrets that lead to an illegal operation. Each discovery convinces her more that someone murdered her father. Her investigation draws the attention of people who killed once and will kill again to protect their business. Katherine must decide how far she will go to prove her father's death was murder, knowing that the truth may cost her life.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, family-secrets
Setting: Austin
Period: 20th-century
306 pages · Paperback · Crimeline
Content warnings: death, murder