A missing teacher. A child no one will protect. A detective fighting her own addiction as hard as she fights for the truth.
Former Seaside police captain Ellie Cook has traded her badge for a PI license, a cane, and a carefully counted stack of pain pills. Chronic nerve damage, PTSD, and a growing dependence on Oxy and Xanax have carved deep cracks through her life and her relationship with her partner, psychiatrist Dr. Alexa Mendoza. But when a desperate woman walks into Ellie's coastal home office and says her sister, elementary school teacher Hannah Lowe, is missing, Ellie doesn't hesitate.
The local authorities insist Hannah left town on her own. Ellie doesn't buy it.
As Ellie digs into Hannah's life in Manzanita, Oregon, she finds a trail of ignored abuse reports, disappearing medical records, and powerful families who will do anything to protect their own. A little boy named Evan shows up with injuries that don't match the story. A deputy with too much access keeps appearing everywhere Ellie turns. And somewhere in the background, the anonymous "Watcher" who has haunted Ellie's previous cases is back, feeding her just enough information to keep her moving-and in danger.
With her body breaking down and her pill use spiraling out of control, Ellie pushes herself up Neahkahnie Mountain in search of a hidden cabin and the woman the system has decided to forget. Saving Hannah might cost Ellie her license, her freedom, or her life. Not saving her might cost Ellie the last pieces of her soul.
TIDE OF CROWS is a tense, emotional Oregon coast crime thriller featuring a queer, disabled private investigator, a slow-rebuilding f/f relationship, and a web of small-town corruption that reaches from school basements to county offices. Perfect for readers who love character-driven mysteries, gritty psychological suspense, and a heroine who is brave, broken, and not interested in being fixed.
Fans of Tanya Parker Mills, Lori Rader-Day, J.M. Redmann, and coastal noir with LGBTQ+ leads will feel right at home in A Cook Investigations Novel.