The Art of Murder

I can’t believe it has been a year since I've posted. Time to catch up! I’m excited to announce that my fifth book, The Art of Murder, was published in May. This book, originally titled Glenside, presented a number of challenges. As stated in the last post, the characters, Autumn Whitcomb and Yuri Rachinskij, were developed by patrons from two rural Upstate New York libraries. The patrons did a great job, and I am forever grateful to them for bringing me two interesting characters. Because of the differences in the characters, I had to work on some complicated plot lines. Officer Autumn Whitcomb was fairly easy to develop. She dealt with sexism and fraud in her North Carolina position while dealing with a failed relationship. Her character overcomes and grows when she is made a detective with a New York police department and is immediately faced with a murder to solve. Quickly. Ukrainian Yuri Rachinskij was the biggest challenge. I wanted him to be real, but without getting into the war. What would prompt him to leave his beloved National Archives and end up in the same New York town as Autumn? I worked through that challenge and came out with a winner. Whenever I finish a book, I wonder if anyone will like it. That’s the life of an author. This book resonated with readers right away. One reader wrote, “You've hit another one out of the park. Somehow, you manage to take current concerns and weave your characters through them into a tapestry that keeps us on the edge of our seats in suspense. Hope you have as much fun writing as we do reading.” The answer to that is, yes, it is great fun to be with my characters. You can find the book on Amazon:

Glenside, A Novel of Suspense

The book I started in October 2022 is in it's third draft editing process. With each read through I get deeper into the characters and the plot. I love these characters and I hope readers will too. Below is synopsis of the book. Detective Autumn Whitcomb is a mid-career cop caught between worlds—trying to fit into a new team in a new town. Before she can acclimate to her detective position with the Glenside, New York, police department, Autumn is assigned to investigate the mysterious death of the university’s archivist. During her investigation, she learns valuable artwork is missing from the archives. She feels the archivist’s death and the missing artwork are connected. But how? She is pressured to solve the case quickly as the university prepares for its centennial celebration—murder and missing art would discourage donors. But Autumn has to navigate the passions, intrigue, and power struggles inherent in academia while she figures out who murdered the archivist and if the art thefts are connected. Dr. Yuri Rachinskij, Director of the Ukrainian National Archives, faced serious problems. His country was at war and he was responsible for making sure the artifacts housed in the National Archives were safe. With missile strikes coming closer, threatening his family, staff, and the archives, the unimaginable happened. The Ukraine government sent Yuri to Glenside, New York, on a special mission. But his assignment is interrupted when he is considered the prime suspect in a murder investigation.