SHOW ME THE ASHES

A former CIA agent must find a way to solve a cold case without hurting her best friend’s feelings.

Ex-spy and financial expert Phoenix Smith returned to her childhood Missouri home while recovering from a gunshot wound. Since her return, she's helped an old friend, Acting Sheriff Annalynn Keyser—whose late husband, Boom, was a poor excuse for a sheriff—solve several tough cases (Show Me the Gold, 2014, etc.). Phoenix is focused on getting her Coping After Crime Foundation off the ground until Beatrix Hew arrives with her granddaughter, Hermione. Hoping to get her own daughter, Jolene, released from prison, Beatrix claims Jolene’s innocent of manslaughter and arson even though she’s confessed. Phoenix knows she must dig up some real evidence in order to get Annalynn, who won’t take kindly to the possibility that Boom coerced a confession, to reopen the case. Along the way, she gets help from another old friend, Connie Diamante, who loves crime solving. The pair must keep Annalynn from knowing that they're investigating. Fortunately, a series of strangely disturbing burglaries is keeping the acting sheriff busy. Phoenix, serving as a reserve deputy, and her former drug dog, Achilles, are drafted to help find the crooks. Phoenix knows she’s getting on someone’s nerves when Achilles is almost poisoned and they're both victims of a sniper attack. But Jolene herself refuses to speak to Phoenix, who must dig into the past to see whom Jolene’s protecting if she’s to set her free.

Phoenix’s fourth provides both plenty of action and enough likely suspects to keep you guessing.