A Fate Worse than Death: A Hollywood Mystery Prequel

Lind’s suspenseful prequel to 2020’s Deception, which introduced series lead Sgt. Rosemaria Baker, of the Beverly Hills PD, flashes back to Baker’s happy childhood as the nine-year-old daughter of an LAPD detective, Steven, and an aspiring actor, Olivia. But things turn dark when Olivia’s efforts to make the big time fall short, leading to a tragedy that scars Rosemaria, then 10, for life. Eight years later, Rosemaria is a student at UCLA when her father reopens one of his most frustrating cold cases—the murder of construction company owner Sam Clemente. Steven has long suspected a business rival, Jack Sandusky, whose wife, Helen, cheated on Sandusky with Clemente, of being behind Clemente’s killing. The inquiry gets a new lease on life when Helen, who’s remarried, calls Steven to offer evidence against her ex-husband. When the reopened homicide puts Steven in danger, Rosemaria steps up to make a daring attempt to save him, in the process finding her true calling. Simple, effective prose matches the intelligent characterizations. New readers will want to check out Deception. (Self-published)