"A gritty contemporary crime novel that's lifted above the pack by the intense humanity of its female protagonist. Don't miss it." —Milton T. Burton, author of Nights of the Red MoonAt the end of State Road 170 and just past a ghost town lies Artemis, population 2,500. The townspeople had sought out this remote corner of Western Texas in hopes of living lives of solitude and independence. None of them realized that their small town would become a hot spot for Mexican drug runners, whose turf battles have turned both sides of the Rio Grande into a war zone. Still, many of the locals would rather take the law into their own hands than get help from police chief Josie Gray, even when they're up against a cartel's private army.After arresting one of the cartel's hit men and killing another, Josie finds her life at risk for doing a job that many people would rather see her quit. And when the town's self-appointed protector of the Second Amendment is murdered and his cache of weapons disappears, it's clear that she doesn't have to pick sides in this war. She's battling them both."Fields's rich plotting, nonstop action, and deft characterizations show the personal side of the larger issue of drug cartels on both sides of the border." —Publishers Weekly"Tricia Fields is the real deal." —Craig Johnson, New York Times–bestselling author of The Cold Dish and Hell is Empty"[For] crime fiction readers who yearn for wide open spaces, characters with real heartbeats, and stories that ring true." —M.J. Rose, author of New York Times–bestselling author of The Reincarnationist

There can be little doubt about the level of premeditation involved in blocking up a boiler flue, or the collateral damage if the intended victim doesn’t live alone. When Rory Hamilton and Hailey Wilson are found dead at home, DCI Lawrence Forrester wonders which of them was the focus of the attack.Rory was a wealthy man, and, with Hailey having died alongside him, his grown-up children stand to inherit everything. Did his money – and the knowledge that he was set to alter his will – motivate one of them to kill? Or does the explanation lie in Hailey’s past, and the ties she attempted to sever when she moved in with Rory after a whirlwind romance?Not everyone can let go, as Lawrence knows all too well. Someone is convinced that he failed to secure justice for a young woman who died in an apparent accident a year ago, and is desperate to see him revisit the case.And, in an effort to force his hand, they’re going after his thirteen-year-old daughter.

Would You Kill to Keep a Secret? Bob Anderson — local banker, city council member, and now murder victim — had the goods on a bunch of people in Plains City, Texas. Everybody wants those files; no one can find them.Katy Williams was hired to make the Plains City Gazette into a modern newspaper. She's got enough on her plate with the newspaper, a Texan boyfriend, and Texas in general. She's understaffed, overworked and just grateful to get the newspaper out every day.But someone wants Bob Anderson's files bad enough to kill. He's killed once, and he's willing to do it again to keep his sins hidden. Unfortunately for Katy, half the town want those files, for all kinds of reasons. And they think she has them.Katy can either find the files and publish, or she can end up as the next victim of a very determined murderer.First in a historical mystery series, A Newspaper in Texas, set in the 1980s.

A newspaper editor and a police detective investigate two seemingly unrelated Santa Fe murders in this mystery debut—Winner of the Tony Hillerman Prize."The Replacement Child has many charms: It's a riveting procedural, a compassionate and perceptive study of human nature, and a wonderfully labyrinthine whodunit." —William Kent Krueger, author of Thunder BayLate one night, Capital Tribune editor Lucy Newroe receives a tip from Scanner Lady, an anonymous reader who frequently calls with police scanner tidbits. When Lucy checks out the tip, she discovers Scanner Lady has been killed. That same night, the body of a seventh-grade teacher, Melissa Baca, is found at the bottom of a local bridge. As Lucy and police detective Gil Montoya hunt down the culprits in each murder, they discover their cases are intertwined in the most intimate ways.Christine Barber, the first winner of the Tony Hillerman Prize, received overwhelming praise for her remarkable debut, which was named a New York Times Notable Book. Rich with details of New Mexico and the people who live there, The Replacement Child is the perfect novel for anyone who has fallen in love with the Southwest, and marks the emergence of a promising new writer."Christine Barber is new to the Southwest in the sense that The Replacement Child is her first novel. But she has a great feel for the territory and for the family connections that enforce its strong community bonds." —The New York Times Book Review"Provides detours into the rich Hispanic traditions, the geography, the architecture, and vagaries of life in present-day Santa Fe. . . . I think this pleasurable novel will endure as a far more insightful tour guide than any document printed for that purpose." —Albuquerque Journal"Smart, taut, psychologically convincing. Christine Barber has a sure hand with character and a strong sense of place." —Susan Wittig Albert, author of Nightshade

Winner of the Literary Titan Silver Book AwardA highly regarded surgeon has gone missing. Will the search for her whereabouts tear a community apart?Dr. Janie O’Connor’s disappearance from her Savannah estate, Rose Dhu, has shocked the town to its core. Her former fiancé, Phillip Carruthers—once the most eligible bachelor in coastal Georgia and the playboy son of Savannah’s most powerful billionaire family—is the prime suspect.Phillip maintains his innocence and seems to have an airtight alibi, and the case has local police stumped. But Detective Frank Winger, who has his own personal connection to Janie’s family, is determined to discover what happened . . . as long as false witnesses, evidence tampering, and ghosts from his past don’t get in the way.When back-door dealings and long-forgotten enemies reveal themselves, will Frank be able to distinguish fact from fiction to figure out what happened to Janie? Or will her whereabouts stay shrouded in the shadows of Savannah’s live oaks?

"Talton's summer mystery, a first novel, shows how fertile the desert can be as a mystery setting... A stunning debut." —Booklist STARRED reviewHaving recently lost his job as a history professor, David Mapstone returns to his boyhood home of Phoenix, Arizona, to find the city dramatically changed. It's now a haven for wealthy retirees and a seasonal retreat for West Coast "sophisticates," but pockets of his earlier life—some welcome, some not—remain. Mapstone eagerly accepts a temporary job from his old friend, Maricopa County Chief Deputy Mike Peralta: look into still-open cases and see if he can close any. He is settling into his new job when his college sweetheart appears at his door one evening. True to his memory of her, she is there because she wants something. Her sister is missing, and she wants Mapstone to look for her.Mapstone's search for the missing woman is quickly resolved when her body is discovered in the desert, but he is stunned to find the dead sister in circumstances identical to a sensational 40-year-old unsolved murder. Mapstone's dogged investigation of both murders bridges the chasm of clashing cultures, meshing his own long-ago memories with the tangled doings of newcomers and their acolytes, young women eager to share the lifestyle of tainted wealth, drugs, and careless violence.