Queen City Crimes Mystery

Who would ever suspect that their mentor, teacher, and friend was a cold-blooded killer? Jessie Martin didn't-at least not until she answers the midnight call. Late one August night, Jessie's lifelong mentor and friend-and presently a popular, charismatic, and handsome high school teacher-Terrence Butterfield calls. He utters a startling admission: he's killed someone. He pleads for Jessie's help, so out of loyalty, she rushes to his aid completely unaware that she's risking her relationship, her career, and her life-and that of her unborn child-to help Terrence. Does Jessie's presence at Terrence's home implicate her in the gruesome murder of the teenage boy found in the basement? Why does Terrence betray Jessie when he has a chance to exonerate her of all charges? Has he been a monster in disguise for all these years? To reclaim her life and prove her innocence, Jessie must untangle the web of lies and reveal the shocking truths behind the homicide. The quest turns out to be the fight of her life: to preserve everything and everyone she holds dear.

For Detective Ebony Jones, crime is always personal. But this time, it strikes too close to home. A pop-up thunderstorm marched its way across the Hudson River, ambushing a young couple's kayaking trip. The woman miraculously made it back to shore, but her fiancé remains missing. Ebony and her partner are the first responders who rush to the river to assist in rescuing the capsized boater. The victim's identity shocks Ebony to the core. Kyle Emory, the ex-boyfriend of her estranged best friend, attorney Jessie Martin, is the man who never made it out of the water. The accident ignites a firestorm between the two friends, pitting them against each other in a race to discover whether Kyle survived or whether he met his untimely demise. Under pressure from the chief and the DA, Ebony needs to solve the mystery, while Jessie seeks justice for the sake of the daughter she shares with Kyle. The investigation leads them through the dark worlds of social media, online sports betting, and extreme sports. Along the way, they uncover lies and betrayals, and gather a list of dangerous suspects who are all linked to the accident survivor, Kyle's mysterious fiancée. Even more, the discovery that Kyle possessed his own life-shattering secrets has trapped Ebony between her career and her lifelong friendship with Jessie. Yet neither Ebony nor Jessie will stop until they discover the truth about the drowning. Even if it destroys their friendship and their lives. But the evidence is as murky as the secretive Hudson River. Only the river knows whether Kyle's tragic death was an accident, a suicide, or something more sinister.