Playing
a mystery game seems the perfect way to celebrate Jamie Kydd’s
promotion to Detective Sergeant rank. But the game turns real when a
body turns up in the pretend crime scene. Perhaps worse than spoiling
the party, the corpse is someone Jamie knows.
Even
though the police take on the case, Jamie asks his friend, former
police detective Michael McLaren, to also investigate—concerned
that the victim’s criminal past may dampen the Constabulary’s
usual fervor to nab his killer. It seems to have been a smart
decision, for the police aren’t expending a lot of energy on the
inquiry.
Suspects
float around McLaren…half truthful, hard to find. More like wraiths
than flesh and blood. If the victim’s burglary partner, ex-wife, or
childhood friend didn’t kill Dan, who did? It’s a desperate game
between McLaren and a killer who’s playing Hide and Seek.
Jamie knew Yates’ recent record. He’d reviewed it before he left the
house, wanting to be prepared no matter which way their conversation
would turn. The prior convictions ranged from assault, breach of a
restraining order, and handling stolen goods to armed robbery.
He
had familiarized himself with Yates’ personal history too: how he’d
slid into crime when he was eighteen, how he’d been suspected of
murdering his parents and torching the family home, how his mate had
provided a water-tight alibi that plopped Yates elsewhere that horrific
night. But despite the clean bill of health absolving him of any
criminal involvement, Yates had continued to get into trouble.
Jamie
also was prepared for seeing Yates Fairley in person. It was a
precaution he took seriously, for he didn’t want to miss any advantage
he could get for a successful encounter…which also might lead to a
successful interview. Through viewing police photos, Jamie had
familiarized himself with the man’s looks and expression—the dark hair
and eyes, the piercing stare, the exceptional height and muscular
physique. No doubt developed to disconcert police officers and
intimidate people, Jamie thought as he looked at the figure sitting
across from him. But it wasn’t working on him.
Books,
Girl Scouts and music filled Jo A. Hiestand's childhood. She
discovered the magic of words and the worlds they create: mysteries,
English medieval history, the natural world. She explored the joys of
the outdoors through Girl Scout camping trips and summers as a
canoeing instructor and camp counselor. Brought up on classical, big
band and baroque music, she was groomed as a concert pianist until
forsaking the piano for the harpsichord. She also plays guitar and
has sung in a semi-professional folkgroup in the US and as a soloist
in England.
This
mixture formed the foundation for her writing. A true Anglophile, Jo
wanted to create a mystery series that featured a British police
detective who left the Force over an injustice and now investigates
cold cases on his own. The result is the McLaren Mysteries, featuring
ex-police detective Michael McLaren. Jo's insistence for accuracy --
from police methods and location layout to the general feel of the
area -- has driven her innumerable times to Derbyshire. These
explorations and conferences with police friends provide the detail
filling the books. She also writes the amateur sleuth Linn House
Mysteries under the pen name Jessie McAlan. In 1999 Jo returned to
Webster University to major in English. She graduated in 2001 with a
BA degree and departmental honors.
She
has employed her love of writing, board games and music in other ways
by co-inventing a mystery-solving game, P.I.R.A.T.E.S., which uses
maps, graphics, song lyrics, and other clues to lead the players to
the lost treasure. Jo founded the Greater St. Louis Chapter of
Sisters in Crime, serving as its first president. Besides her love of
mysteries and early music, she also enjoys photography, reading,
baking, and her backyard wildlife.Her cat, Tennyson, shares her St.
Louis home.
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