The Cari Turnlyle Series

When a college track star collapses dead as he tries to clear the last hurdle, sports writer Cari Turnlyle suspects foul play. As she tries to dig deeper, she continually encounters obstacles. Another member of the school's athletic community turns up dead leading Cari to turn to her childhood friend, Detective Genevieve Viacorte. But even Detective Viacorte refuses to acknowledge Cari's theory. Can she find the answers before someone else pays the price?

Cari Turnlyle was recently promoted from the sports column to a front-page journalist at the Brenington Beagle. She had been enjoying her success until a wealthy member of the community calls her writing drivel. The man, Frederick Kastener, is outraged when no one investigates his daughter’s death in a collision that by all accounts seems to be accidental. Well-connected both socially and financially, Kastener throws his weight around to get the case a second look.

Tragedy strikes when a local bookstore is struck by lightning and burns to the ground. First responders discover an unknown man inside the building in their attempts to extinguish the fire. Intrigued by the man’s presence, Cari visits the building’s remains hoping to figure out why he was there. Her search leaves her with more questions than answers when a possible witness disappears.

When Cari accepts Bob's invitation to join him for a vacation in Wisconsin, she has no idea what's in store. The relaxing week away turns nightmarish early on when she startles an intruder at Bob's family's bed and breakfast. His aunt confesses that this isn't the first break-in: its the fourth one in as many weeks. She has started to lose business and feels helpless to put a stop to it. Never one to walk away from an investigation, Cari teams up with the local sheriff's department to track down the mystery man.

The city of Brenington is shocked to learn that one of its residents is actually bestselling author Natasha Gillespie. Just days after announcing her retirement and revealing her identity to the world, Gayle Smith, a.k.a., Natasha Gillespie, is found dead in her own home. Cari is not alone in suspecting foul play; Genevieve and Alex lead the police investigation after barbiturates are discovered in the woman's system.

Cari’s brother-in-law Robby has come to her with a disturbing tale: he thinks his boss is using him to pay a hitman! She initially chalks up his concern to paranoia, but her research paints a chilling picture. As she tries to connect the dots using Robby’s clues, she is blindsided by upheaval at the Brenington Beagle. The newspaper is struggling to make ends meet and the owner is restructuring her benefits package.

Last summer, the FBI and Brenington PD worked together to arrest Anderson Stenoway for multiple homicides. Detective Genevieve Viacorte disagreed with closing the case. She’s convinced he wasn’t acting alone and has worked on her own time to find proof of his accomplice. Meanwhile, Cari’s wedding is days away when she gets a call from an old acquaintance whose cousin is missing. Her cousin was traveling to the Midwest, but missed her connection and no one can get in touch with her. Cari feels inadequate; she’s only a journalist, not an investigator.

A couple hunting for a bargain finds something far darker, a thick liquid oozing from a car’s trunk. One call to the cops, and the lid pops open to reveal a corpse. No ID. No answers. Just a dead man waiting to ruin someone’s day. The dealer can’t produce a title, and suspicion spreads fast. Cari’s boss insists the man is innocent and sends her to clear his name. Brenington PD detectives Genevieve and Alex dig for answers, but the trail is already going cold. Cari’s newlywed life is pulling her focus, and the deeper she digs, the more tangled the lies become.

Cari and Bob stop by a picturesque lake to take a selfie in the middle of their morning run. A second glance at the lake reveals a car bobbing to the surface. When the dive team arrives to pull the car from the lake, they discover the driver inside, his wrist tied to the steering wheel. Cari is immediately pulled into the suspicious death and starts investigating the dead man's background. Genevieve and Alex aren't far behind her on the trail. Who was Evan Turanski and how did he end up dead in the lake? Cari's dogged pursuit of the answers takes her into a new unsafe arena.