THE KING FALLS

The murder of a bridge-playing playboy roils a Mississippi town replete with secrets.

Wendy Winchester Rierson’s marriage to Ross, her detective husband, has been marred only by her inability to conceive. The daughter of Police Chief Bax Winchester, Wendy has already proven her crime-solving chops by investigating several murders, an experience highly pertinent to her career as an investigative reporter. After she receives an invitation to one of the fabulous bridge parties hosted by King Kohl, scion of a wealthy local real estate family, who has a reputation as a lady’s man and a hard-charging salesman, she’s surprised to get a text canceling the party and inviting her to King’s house for an explanation. Arriving on schedule, she’s nearly run over by Marcus Silvertree, who’s phoning 911 after finding King’s body. Since Silvertree ran a rival real estate company the Kohls drove out of business, he’s a prime suspect. But Wendy thinks a woman may be involved in this apparent crime of passion. King had at least three more possible candidates in his life, two women he’d seriously dated and his part-time housekeeper, who had a major crush on him. King's parents are devastated—especially his mother, whose dementia causes her to think she’s killed her son. Eventually Wendy uses both her experience and her intuition to reveal an unexpected killer.

Oodles of Southern charm and a well-concealed miscreant add up to an exciting page-turner.