Angela Richman, Death Investigator

Every town has its secrets. Some are too deadly to stay hidden. Chouteau County's super-rich know how to cover up a scandal, but when it comes to murder, they'd better watch their backs . . . Death investigator Angela Richman is determined to see a killer brought to justice in this sharply written and darkly entertaining mystery set in Missouri, perfect for fans of Lisa Gardner and J.A. Jance. Angela Richman, Chouteau County death investigator, finds herself deep in the Missouri woods on a perfect spring day. But there is nothing idyllic about her grim walk - a body has been discovered in a muddy creek, and Detective Jace Budewitz wants Angela on the scene. Terri Gibbons, the popular Forest High track star who went missing eight months ago, has been found strangled. Could a message found in Terri's shoe hold the key to catching her killer? Chouteau Forest is a town of privilege and secrets, where everyone has something to hide . . . Can Angela overcome the many obstacles in her way to see justice served when the Forest's wealthy residents will go to any lengths to prevent the truth being revealed?

Hollywood diva Jessica Gray is on the last leg of her one-woman show when she suffers a sudden and fatal illness...but Angela Richman thinks there's more to it. "Ageless" Hollywood diva Jessica Gray is finishing the last leg of her one-woman show in St Louis, Missouri, and the nearby town of Chouteau Forest is dazzled. During the show she humiliates three homeless women onstage, fires her entourage - not for the first time - and makes a bitter enemy of the town's powerful patriarch. After she collapses at an after-show party and is rushed to the hospital, she ignores the advice of her doctors and discharges herself in order to return to LA. On the way to the airport she suffers a deadly coughing fit. It was poison. When Angela Richman's friend, Mario, is arrested for the murder and faces the death penalty, she is compelled to investigate. With so many grudges held against the actress and Mario's life on the line, the stakes are higher than ever.

Fans of J.A. Jance and Lisa Gardner will love this, exploration of the little-known job of death investigator in small-town Missouri where Angela Richman finds herself investigating the lives and secrets of the one percenters in Chouteau Forest. Chouteau Forest's wealthy are being targeted by the Ghost Burglars, who've carried out twelve burglaries over two weeks. So far, there's been no bloodshed... until Tom Lockridge is brutally slain inside his marble mansion during the latest raid. Angela Richman, death investigator for Chouteau County is, called to assess the scene and the body by Detective Jace Budewitz. As they investigate, Jace becomes obsessed with proving the Ghost Burglars weren't involved in the murder. Can the burglars be, ruled out so easily? Is there more, to Cynthia Lockridge, Tom's wife, seeking solace in the arms of the ambitious local lawyer, Wesley Desloge? What about Tom's long-suffering daughter, or his loose-lipped housekeeper or office manager? Everyone is keeping secrets, but whose, erupted into violence that fateful night?

Death Investigator Angela Richman suspects foul play when a disgraced resident of Chouteau Forest survives one car crash only to then be involved in another. Until his Porsche careened off the road killing him instantly and not leaving much of him behind, Sterling Chaney was an influential member of Chouteau Forest - home of the one percenters. As the eulogies at his funeral commence, an unexpected guest interrupts . . . Sterling. The story attracts widespread media coverage. Sterling's the man who showed up late for his own funeral. He revels in the spotlight, until it's revealed he earned his fortune via sordid means and exploiting the women who worked for him. It leaves him vilified and shunned by Chouteau society. Then there's another fatal crash. This time, Death Investigator Angela Richman is tasked with confirming that Sterling has perished. But her investigation reveals more questions than answers. Were both crashes merely accidents, or was someone doubly determined to kill Sterling?

When Angela Richman finds two dead bodies in a cursed crypt on Halloween, she is drawn into a spine-tingling mystery. Has a Chouteau Forest legend turned deadly, or is a dangerous killer on the loose? Everyone in Chouteau Forest knows the legend of the Cursed Crypt. It's claimed that the restless spirit of a professor nicknamed Mean Gene Cortini, buried in Chouteau Forest University's crypt, has been causing death and destruction in the Forest for almost two centuries. Local residents are used to disease and natural disasters striking every seven years. But not murder. When Trey Lawson outbids the wealthy Du Pres family at the university's annual Howl-o-ween Benefit Auction, he wins the chance to spend the night in the crypt with his fianc�e, Lydia. Angela Richman, Death Investigator, finds their mutilated bodies there the following morning. As Angela investigates, she learns that Trey was threatening the established hierarchy of Chouteau Forest. Has the legend taken a deadly turn, or are Trey and Lydia victims of a vicious power struggle?

Angela's new case is full of dark secrets and scandal, but shocking events closer to home prove to be her biggest challenge yet . . . Nobody in Choutaeu Forest expected one of their most prominent citizens, socialite Selwyn Skipton, to be found dead in such salacious circumstances: strangled on satin bedsheets, a red letter A brutally stapled to his chest, in his private apartment above the Chouteau Forest Chocolate Shoppe. Selwyn was a good man. He gave to charity, supported local causes, and was married to his wife for more than twenty years. What did he do to deserve such a terrible end? As Death Investigator Angela Richman investigates, she uncovers Selwyn's dark secret, but also faces an unexpected, chilling conundrum closer to home . . .

Angela Richman prays she doesn't have another death investigation on her hands in this chilling novella from Anthony and Agatha Award-winning author Elaine Viets. The last thing Chouteau County death investigator Angela Richman wants to do during the holidays is her job. So it's with some trepidation that she agrees to help the desperate Mr. and Mrs. LaRouche when they show up on her doorstep. Their daughter Juliet is missing. She was last seen leaving a high school party just before midnight, and they'd like Angela's help getting their trusted local detectives involved. The officer assigned to the case-Chouteau newcomer Det. Jace Budewitz-is far too blunt and impolite for their liking. And with the weather murderously cold, they can't bear the thought that their little princess is in the harsh winter wilderness. Discreetly investigating Juliet's disappearance, Angela finds herself struggling to break through the silence from the rich teenagers who knew Juliet and their infuriatingly detached parents. She also discovers that their vicious bias against the local working class has cast a shadow over the case. The more she digs, the less Angela can comprehend the lengths the one percent will go to protect their own. Angela must work quickly as she searches for answers with the acute awareness that Juliet LaRouche edges closer to becoming just a memory…