BETRAYAL OF TRUST

Two investigators for the Washington State Attorney General’s Special Homicide Investigation Team are called upon to investigate a heinous crime with political connections.

Upon their arrival in Olympia, J.P. Beaumont and his wife Mel Soames are shown a snuff film that’s been sent to the cell phone of Josh, the grandson of Governor Longmire’s second husband. After Josh’s mother died of a drug overdose, he moved into the governor’s mansion. He denies knowing anything about the film or the identity of the young woman. J.P., who believes him, sends Josh’s computer and phone to a computer expert to see what he can tell. His information becomes even more important when Josh commits suicide. The body of the girl on the film is found floating in a pond, but it’s clear that she was strangled after the first film was made. J.P. and Mel trace her to Janie’s House, a community center for poor and troubled teens, where they discover a connection to Josh’s suicide. He was being cyber-bullied from a computer available to anyone at Janie’s House, a place frequented by both the dead girl and the governor’s daughters, who do community service there as tutors. The difficulty of the case is matched by something J.P. has just learned about his own background that will change his life.

The prolific Jance (Fire and Ice, 2009, etc.) again tells a story that will keep her readers wanting more.