People are dying in east Tennessee. Children and the elderly and young adults in the prime of life, whole families are being found dead of unknown causes. Dr. Lee Turner, the deputy coroner for Bartram County, took the phone call that led her to the discovery of the first body, that of Dr. Alexander Hamrick, an aging scientist retired from the National Research Labs at Oak Ridge. Lee recently moved back to Carters Mill, the quiet little university town of her childhood, hoping for a slower pace of life and some peace of mind. But the discovery of the Hamrick body and those that follow turn her life and the lives of the citizens of Bartram County inside out. Lee works desperately to get to the bottom of whatever is going on, but not everyone is cooperative and happy with what she is doing. Powerful and sinister forces stand in her way at every turn. Through it all Lee has the support of her loyal assistant, the normally goodnatured and laid back Buddy Ruff who is not only her righthand man, he can be her righthand fist when the going gets dirty. She can only hope she has enough resources and enough time to solve the mystery as people close to her fall victim and she herself could be the next to die.
About the Author: Beverly Connor is the author of the Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation series, the Lindsay Chamberlain archaeology mystery series, and co-authored Murder In Macon, and The Poplar Creek Murders with her husband Charles. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in archaeology, anthropology, sociology, and geology. Before she began her writing career, Beverly worked as an archaeologist in the southeastern United States, specializing in bone identification and analysis of stone tool debitage. Originally from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, she weaves her professional experiences from archaeology and her knowledge of the South into interlinked stories of the past and present. Beverly's books have been translated into German, Dutch, and Czech and are available in standard and large print in the UK, and in ebook format worldwide. Please visit her at beverlyconnor.net Charles Connor grew up in Alabama during the 1940s, 50s and 60s in and around the little communities of Caffee Junction, Green Pond, and McCalla just outside Birmingham. He received B.A. and Masters degrees from the University of Alabama, attended graduate school at Vanderbilt and received a doctorate from the University of Georgia. He taught at several state universities in the southeast before joining the faculty at the University of Georgia where he founded the Harriette Austin Writing Program and the HAWC writing conference and directed them for twelve years before retiring from university life. He and his wife, novelist Beverly Connor, now reside in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (The Secret City, home of the atomic bomb, 3D printers, and the world's fastest computer) where he reflects on life, writes, and supports Beverly in her writing. He is co-author of The Poplar Creek Murders and Murder In Macon with his wife Beverly.