Daughters of Riga, my novel about World War II Latvia, and the long shadow that the war cast over two young women who survived it, was the story I felt compelled to write. Since its release last February, I have been so gratified with how the novel has resonated with readers. But now it’s time to return to mystery. The Wild Rose Press will publish Six Degrees of Death on November 25, an appropriate date for this story set in the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest at the darkest time of the year.
Inspired by the “six degrees of separation” theory, the premise of the novel is that six strangers are connected by the suspicious death of a much-loved English professor at a small liberal arts college. Is one of them the killer? The jaded detective in charge thinks it’s the professor’s husband, but a rookie cop assisting him isn’t so sure. When the police investigation hits a wall, the former strangers come together to uncover unlikely links between the death, political corruption in Central America, and a secret document that names names.
My history with mystery
I love writing mysteries! I honed my writing skills on the Sarah McKinney mystery series published between 2013 and 2017. Sarah is an international mediator and I had fun following her to places I knew in France and the UK, as well as back to her home in Decatur, Georgia. I lived in Atlanta for twenty-nine years before moving to the Pacific Northwest.
During National Novel Writing Month, my local writing community, the Red Wheelbarrow Writers, usually undertakes a collaborative novel. It has been my honor in recent years to write the first chapter on November 1, sowing the seeds of a mystery for writers who take up the challenge on subsequent days. New characters are introduced, and plot twists abound. The finished product is in turns hilarious and chaotic. We celebrate with a speed reading in December.
Available for pre-order now
Six Degrees of Death is available for pre-order now on Amazon (US and UK), Barnes & Noble, and very soon from Bookshop.org, and your favorite independent bookstore. It will make an excellent Christmas gift for the mystery reader on your list. And give yourself the gift of mystery! I’d love to hear which of the six characters you think might support a sequel or maybe a series. I’m back to writing mysteries for the foreseeable future.
