SERIAL KILLER - BLACK WIDOW SPIDERS = DEATH He got up and walked over to a shelf along the wall. She turned her head and followed him with her eyes. She could see that the shelves held row after row of pint-size canning jars. He seemed to contemplate the contents of the jars.
"Ahh, this one looks perfect. A little bigger than the other two," he said, as he walked back over to her cot carrying a jar.
Her eyes opened wide in terror. Inside the jar she saw a huge black widow spider.
Sweet Southern Belle Detective Annie Avants hunts down murderers and serial killers in Kern County California. In this first book of the Detective Annie Avants crime fiction mystery series, we meet Annie and her partner, Detective Tom Weston.
In the dusty small-town farm communities of Kern County, someone is kidnapping, torturing, and killing young Hispanic females. The weapon of torture - black widow spiders.
As the detectives work with their peers and race against time to catch this serial killer, the suspense builds right up until the last moment as more victims are found.
Annie Avants was born and raised a true southern belle in Mena, Arkansas. From a young age, she knew she wasn't destined to become a farmer's wife and give her parents a passel of grandbabies.
It upset her family when she joined the Polk County Sheriff's Department and became one of the youngest detectives of record. After a few years of working in Arkansas, she was ready to spread her wings and took a job offer she couldn't refuse with the Kern County Sheriff's Office in California.
It wasn't long before she was one of the lead detectives in the Robbery/Homicide Unit.
Her partner, Detective Tom Weston, had only one goal. To finish out his last five years and retire. When his pregnant wife was killed in a bungled bank robbery a few years ago, his life came to a halt and he barely existed. Now, with the help of his young, vibrant new partner, he is taking a new lease on life and was even brave enough to ask Laine DelMonte, the Chief of Technical Investigations, for a date.
One major conflict in Annie's life at this moment is the unwanted pressure by Deputy District Attorney Jesse Greyeyes to make her commit to a relationship between the two of them. Feelings of dread, and being trapped, rise to the surface in Annie each time Jesse puts on the pressure.
Into this setting, the four friends work with slim clues to find out who is killing young, Hispanic females and why.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING Cause of Death by Renee Benzaim
This exciting book is fast-paced, easy to follow, with engaging characters and a highly suspenseful storyline. I couldn't put it down. I didn't put it down, and read it straight through in a day. I just had to find out whodunit!
JaneReads
Well- written, suspenseful, hated to put it down to fix dinner for family! Recommend this author to other folks anytime.
Glitzy
Fantastic!!!!
Loved it! Kept me in suspense to the end! Great police story, made my skin crawl! Keep up the good work.
Pam Gilstrap
CAUSE OF DEATHis a spine-chilling crime fiction story that keeps you guessing right up to the last minute - and makes you wonder about the "normal" people in YOUR daily life.
About the Author: Renee Benzaim was born in Wenatchee, Washington, but grew up in Northern California. She wrote her first short story when she was in the third grade and discovered her love of putting words on paper. Her novels include the popular Detective Annie Avants crime fiction series, which is set in Kern County, California. Annie has become very popular with readers has been called the next "Nancy Drew". There are five books in this series (so far), and each book can be read independent of the others. Another book is Coyote's Song, the story of a five-year-old Miwok Indian girl who disappears. Ten years later, a renowned writer sets out to solve the mystery of Evangeline's disappearance. This book is a prequel to Green Witch, Dead Witch. In addition, Renee has written three non-fiction books: How to Make Compost; Salsa!; and Can Men Get Yeast Infections? She and her husband live in a home with gardens surrounded by a stone wall. This small piece of paradise is the home of an ever-growing number of cats and one shaggy dog. "I remember the first long story I ever wrote. I was in the third grade and my teacher, Miss Steere, asked us each to write a story about something in history. I chose to write about the Donner party and the tragedies that befell them as they tried to make it to the Wild West. I had so much fun and made up stories about the travelers and conversations between the people on the wagon train. It didn't occur to me that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I wasn't even old enough to understand what it meant to be grown up. I ended up with a career as a paralegal. It encompassed a lot of research and writing and, in the meantime, I had written short stories, poetry, and two unpublished novels. Finally, I said "enough", quit everything, took early retirement and followed my dream. Now, I'm a writer and I love my life. I have a lot of fun with my characters and stories. To me, they're real people and my joy is to share them with you and the rest of the world."
