Scandal, love, family, and murder combine in this gripping literary
mystery by critically acclaimed author Emily Arsenault, in which a young
academic's life is turned upside down when her brother is arrested for
murder and she must prove his innocence.
The Battle siblings are used to disappointment. Seven years, one
marriage and divorce, three cats, and a dog later, Theresa still hasn't
finished her dissertation. Instead of a degree, she's got a houseful of
adoring pets and a dead-end copywriting job for a local candle company.
Jeff, her so-called genius older brother, doesn't have it together,
either. Creative, and loyal, he's also aimless in work and love. But his
new girlfriend, Kim, a pretty waitress in her twenties, appears smitten.
When Theresa agrees to dog-sit Kim's puggle for a weekend, she has no
idea that it is the beginning of a terrifying nightmare that will
shatter her quiet world. Soon, Kim's body will be found in the woods,
and Jeff will become the prime suspect.
Though the evidence is overwhelming, Theresa knows that her brother is
not a cold-blooded murderer. But to clear him she must find out more
about Kim. Investigating the dead woman's past, Theresa uncovers a
treacherous secret involving politics, murder, and scandal--and becomes
entangled in a potentially dangerous romance. But the deeper she falls
into this troubling case, the more it becomes clear that, in trying to
save her brother's life, she may be sacrificing her own.
