EVERY BROKEN TRUST

Doing a favor for a friend forces Skeet Bannion to investigate her friends and neighbors for murder.

When Skeet opted out of her high-stress job with the Kansas City Police Department, she left behind her charming ex-husband and her alcoholic father. Now chief of campus police at Chouteau University, Skeet is trying to adopt teen Brian Jameson, make new friends and pursue a relationship with local police chief Joe Louzon. Skeet reluctantly allows her friend Karen to use her house to host a welcome party for the new law school dean. The party takes a turn for the worse when assistant U.S. attorney Leonard Klamath shows up drunk and tells Karen that her husband Jake, whose death was ruled an accident, was actually murdered. The party goes on, but later, Karen phones from the university library to say that she’s been attacked and Leonard murdered. The normally calm Karen is now desperate to avenge her husband’s death. She’s certain that the killer is his former boss, George “Mel” Melvin, now an aspiring politician with a wealthy second wife and a deeply troubled daughter. No sooner does Skeet reopen the case than she and several former police colleagues turn up some troubling information. Mel’s wealthy backer Walker Lynch may be involved in human trafficking. Skeet is pursued by Lynch’s aide, Terry Heldrich, a dangerously attractive man with a mysterious past. And Jake turns out to have been having an affair with a former nun. With Karen a target for murder, Skeet has little time to unravel a complex case.

Skeet’s second outing (Every Last Secret, 2012) showcases a strong, intelligent woman with a difficult past that keeps returning to haunt her.