Laurel Highlands Mystery

When Pennsylvania State Trooper Jim Duncan responds to a murder scene at a local mining company, the call hits close to home. The victim, Lonnie Butler, is a friend and neighbor who was just beginning to get back on his feet after a year of financial difficulties. Despite entertaining out-of-town family, Jim vows to stay involved in the case. Meanwhile, Fayette County Assistant Public Defender Sally Castle faces an ethical dilemma. Her newest client, Ethan Haverton, may be deeply involved in Lonnie's homicide. Technically, Sally could break privilege, but she chooses not to, a decision that put her at odds with Jim. As the investigation continues, the rift in Jim and Sally's friendship deepens. Can the battling couple patch the break and bring the killer to justice-or will their discord allow a friend's killer to go free?

When Southwest Pennsylvania's summer rains flood the Casselman River, State Police Trooper Jim Duncan finds a John Doe body in what is initially, believed to be a tragic accident. But when, a second victim, John Doe's partner in an environmental group at odds with a nearby quarry operation, is rescued, all thoughts of accidental drowning are abandoned. After Jim is, invited to join the official investigation, he begins to think a career shift might be in his future. Meanwhile, Assistant Public Defender Sally Castle is, approached by an abused, woman who is, accused of murdering her abuser. Although the rules prevent Sally from taking the case, she steps outside her office to help the woman and discover the truth. As their separate cases become, intertwined, Jim and Sally struggle to determine if their new paths can be, traveled together or if they will divide their newly repaired relationship. And equally, important, will they be able to bring a killer to justice before another innocent life is lost?

Trooper Jim Duncan's first day with the Criminal Investigation Division starts off with a bang when he is called to a murder scene with a badly decomposed body. After he finds an abused greyhound in the victim's garage, the simple homicide becomes more complicated. Why would anyone want an unreliable racetrack employee dead, especially when greyhound racing is illegal in Pennsylvania? Assistant public defender Sally Castle is facing her own career change. When she accepts a position with an old law school friend, her first case seems to be one that is exactly what she wants to do. Then she learns the greyhound adoption group her client may have embezzled from has ties to the shooting victim. What else is her client hiding? Jim and Sally work their respective investigations, which may or may not be related. Along the way, they learn important lessons about themselves, those they work with, and the people they protect. But can they complete their tasks without falling prey to a killer?

When defense attorney Sally Castle agrees to do a favor for an old friend she thinks the case will be simple: present the appeal for a murder conviction and the work is already done. But the more Sally looks into the facts of the case, the more problems she sees. Did sloppy police procedure result in the conviction of an innocent man? State Trooper Jim Duncan is also working what seems like a straight-forward homicide: the execution-style murder of a man with suspected drug ties. But before the scene is released, he learns the victim was living with a deep-cover fake identity. Why? Jim and Sally pursue their separate investigations and lines begin to cross, leading them to wonder how separate the cases are. As they uncover murder, drugs, infidelity, and federal-level fraud, one thing becomes clear. Someone wants Sally's client in jail. And they will go to any length, including murder, to keep him there.