Periodic Table

A trip to the Revere Public Library proves fatal for thirty-six-year-old Yolanda Fiore. Her body is found early one morning at the bottom of the library's staircase. The evidence shows she'd been struck on the back of the head before her fall. In this fifth Periodic Table Mystery, retired physicist Gloria Lamerino is not inclined to take on another murder investigation--her romance with homicide detective Sergeant Matt Gennaro is all the contact she needs with the Revere Police Department. But Gloria will do anything for her lifelong friends and current landlords, Rose and Frank Galigani, operators of the Galigani Mortuary. So when their son John is arrested for murdering Yolanda, his former girlfriend, Gloria goes in search of the real killer.

Gloria Lamerino's goddaughter, Mary Catherine Galigani ("MC" to her friends), needs a change in her life. She decides to move back to her hometown of Revere, Massachusetts, thereby ridding herself of both an abusive relationship and an unfulfilling job in Houston, Texas. At least that's the plan. When two homicides disrupt MC's peaceful return to Revere, Gloria applies her not inconsiderable detecting skills to help the police solve the crimes. At the same time, Gloria must face the medical problems of her partner, Detective Matt Gennaro, and the next steps in their relationship. In this sixth periodic table mystery, Gloria delves behind the scenes into the worlds of nanotechnology and show horses, and unwittingly uncovers a crime ring larger than the distance between Texas and Massachusetts.

Gloria and her best friends, Rose and Frank Galigani, are on vacation in the Big Apple. They plan to visit Matt's niece Lori Pizzano, a documentary filmmaker, and enjoy the holiday sights together: shopping on Fifth Avenue, dining in Little Italy, and honoring ancestors at Ellis Island, while Matt attends a conference with the NYPD. Unfortunately, Lori's documentary on ozone and environmental issues has deadly fallout. Gloria stumbles over the body of Lori's scheming camerawoman in a Times Square loft, and, once again, she is thrust into some dangerous sleuthing. With suspects ranging from a disapproving brother to a smooth-talking PR administrator to a self-protecting private eye, Gloria tracks a killer through an intricate landscape of colorful neighborhoods and famous landmarks. Taking us on a trip from the city's tallest building to its grand park, from its crowded ice rinks to a lonely corner of its two-million-square-foot museum, The Oxygen Murder is as exciting as a ride over New York City in a helium balloon.