Run a Crooked Mile

When Michelle “Mike” Morgan turns up shot in the back near her woodland cabin, Rosemary Mendes takes in Mike's dog and determines to uncover the dead woman's past in LaPierre's well-plotted stand-alone, which vividly paints life at its simplest—and ugliest. Rosemary has moved to Northern California's sparsely populated Trinity County to shake the threats of her deceased husband's money-grubbing relatives and for the peaceful, slower-paced lifestyle. In fact, between her worrisome neighbors and vandalism problems, her life has hardly been uneventful—and Sheriff Gus Angstrom, a widower, is clearly interested in more than her case-related information. Murder and kidnapping drive the action to a heart-slamming conclusion. Fans of LaPierre's cozy series set in Port Silva, Calif. (Family Business , etc.), will find virtually no gore, but they should be prepared for the kind of language typical of a gritty police procedural. (Apr.)