Lingering Shadow

Months after arriving home from her service as a United States Army Signal Corps operator in the Great War, Bella is determined to save her family's resort and boost her hometown, both of which are in dire straits. Opening day of the summer season begins with optimism but ends with a murdered guest. Eager to solve the crime quickly and avoid negative publicity, Bella again volunteers to help Constable Jackson Hastings, her dead brother Matt's best friend and former comrade-in-arms, investigate. Jax resists at first, but with his department shorthanded and his war wounds hampering him, he accepts her assistance. As Bella and Jax pursue answers, they confront lingering shadows—from loss and grudges—over the suspects, the victim, the resort, the town, and themselves. A standalone Roaring Twenties whodunit set in small-town America.