Jane Ryland-meets-Cold Case—two killer murder mysteries in one!

Badass reporter-turned-writer Leah Nash is no stranger to danger or deceit. In these two sequels to Susan Hunter’s stunning cozy noir puzzler Dangerous Habits, Leah takes on lies, drugs, and murder in small town Himmel, Wisconsin with the same smartass fearlessness as she did in her chilling debut.

DANGEROUS MISTAKES

Susan Hunter's not quite hard-boiled, not quite cozy sequel catches back up with savvy, independent sleuth Leah Nash along the icy twists and turns of small town mystery in Wisconsin, spiraling down a rabbit hole of fraud, layers upon layers of family secrets, and murder.

“All of us are dying,” states a cryptic Betty Meier to no-nonsense (and oft-accused smart-mouth) reporter Leah Nash one morning, Hours later, Betty’s house ends up torched—and Leah’s covering it for the tiny Himmel Times Weekly. And then she receives a midnight phone call from a mysterious young woman named Isabel, begging her to investigate the death of her wealthy father, Garrett Whiting, a renowned surgeon with possible ties to fraudulent activity. Boohoo, thinks our heroine. Except Isabel found him in his study with a bullet to the brain and a poisonous rum and coke in hand.

DANGEROUS PLACES

Things are finally looking up for Leah Nash. A former investigative reporter (and admittedly reputable smart-mouth), she’s now a full-time true crime writer. And after the publishing of her first book, she’s finally home-sweet-home in small town Himmel after a whirlwind 3-month book tour. But her homecoming library reading is interrupted by Sammy, a childhood friend whose brother was long ago accused of murdering his high school sweetheart, Heather. Sammy begs Leah to re-investigate Heather’s mysterious disappearance—a cold case decades old. And when she does, she discovers town secrets even she never saw coming.

Who will like it: Fans of not quite cozy, not quite hard-boiled mysteries featuring strong female leads: think Nancy Pickard's series featuring true crime author Marie Lightfoot, fans of reporter sleuths like Hank Philippi Ryan’s Jane Ryland, and writers like Louise Penny (Three Pines, Canada) and Christine Kling (the Florida Keys). And, of course, the hit T.V. series Cold Case.