cover image Once You Go This Far: A Roxane Weary Mystery

Once You Go This Far: A Roxane Weary Mystery

Kristen Lepionka. Minotaur, $26.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-30937-2

In Shamus Award–winner Lepionka’s expertly plotted fourth mystery featuring Columbus, Ohio, PI Roxane Weary (after 2019’s The Stories You Tell), Roxane is hiking one morning in a park when she comes across the body of Rebecca Newsome, a private school nurse, who appears to have accidentally fallen off a trail into a ravine. A month later, Roxane hears from Rebecca’s grown daughter, Maggie Holmer, who suspects that Rebecca’s nasty ex-husband, Keir Metcalf, a well-connected former Toledo cop, is involved in her mother’s death. Roxane drives to Toledo, Rebecca’s home, where she meets Keir, who proves uncooperative. Further delving into Rebecca’s final days takes her to a casino in Windsor, Ontario, and into the web of a dangerous conspiracy. Along the way to the surprise ending, Roxane learns a shocking truth about her own father’s past. Roxane, with her vibrant narrative voice, stands as a worthy successor to Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (July)