Your Killin’ Heart

Because Nashville travel agent Campbell Hale, the narrator of Peden’s middling debut, is a fan of deceased country star Jake Miller (whose life and work resemble that of Hank Williams), she jumps at the chance to accompany her sometime boyfriend, lawyer Doug Elliott, as he retrieves some paintings from the home of Jake’s widow, Hazel, for his art dealer brother. The curious Campbell stumbles on a too-still Hazel in bed and realizes later that the woman may have been murdered. Campbell sifts the circumstances of Hazel and Jake’s lives, discovering an illegitimate child, a resentful grandson, a former mistress, an opportunistic assistant, and a well-connected attorney who wants to keep the Miller secrets off the front page. Warnings from handsome detective Sam Davis fail to deter Campbell, who encounters threats and attempts on her life. An insufficient array of suspects and detection a step removed from the action undermine the delivery of the promising premise. (May)