Torch Song

"Do you know what it's like to lose a child to murder?" The question -- the preamble to a puzzle involving an up-and-coming singer of 1940s-style torch songs, a drug stash, and a made-for-TV movie plot -- will threaten McLaren's sanity and safety before he's finished with the case. Janet Ennis tragically died five years ago in what the police labeled an accidental fire. But Janet's mother, Nora, believes it to be murder and arson. And she's hoping ex-cop Michael McLaren can prove it quickly, for she's losing her memory to dementia. As McLaren pokes through the case details, he becomes emotionally involved with the dead woman, succumbing to the spell of her singing and her beauty. Yet, Janet Ennis isn't the only person from the past who threatens his composure and mental well-being. A series of arsons on his own property hint that he's upset someone connected with this case, someone capable of harming him and his fiancee. And one dark night another danger confronts McLaren: the nemesis from his personal past, Charlie Harvester. The man McLaren tangled with, the man who was responsible for his leaving his police job, the man now exasperated by Nora Ennis' sporadic confusion and her constant nagging to reexamine the case. Bad blood pulsed between Harvester and McLaren since Day One of their police training; is it spilling over now into overt hatred? Is Harvester angry enough to stop Nora or derail McLaren's investigation? Harvester certainly has the resources and expertise to do so, ridding himself of Nora's annoying phone calls and McLaren's annoying success with cold case solutions. During McLaren's investigation, motives for Janet's murder seep to the surface like smoky tendrils of a fire. There's her ex-band member, the fired employee in her catering company, the former fiance who might still hold a torch for Janet, the angry client seeking revenge for the catering fiasco at her daughter's wedding. Not to mention jealousy from other caterers and singers. And, motive aside, the murder scene seems a bit too pat for McLaren's liking: a drought-stricken landscape eager to lap up flames, and a conveniently locked door barring Janet's escape. Can McLaren solve the cold case while Nora is still able to comprehend the resolution and die in peace, or does Harvester have plans that will see the cold case and McLaren's career go up in smoke?

About the Author :
A month-long trip to England during her college years introduced Jo to the joys of Things British. Since then, she has been lured back nearly a dozen times, and lived there during her professional folksinging stint. This intimate knowledge of Britain forms the backbone of both the Taylor & Graham mysteries and the McLaren cold case mystery series. Jo's insistence for accuracy, from police methods and location layout to the general "feel" of the area, has driven her innumerable times to Derbyshire for research. These explorations and conferences with police friends provide the detail filling the books. In 1999 Jo returned to Webster University to major in English. She graduated in 2001 with a BA degree and departmental honors. Her cats Chaucer and Tennyson share her St. Louis home.