Scarred by years on the job and a string of bad personal choices, gritty detective Karen Cappelletti spends her days cleaning up other people's messes...

Scarred by years on the job and a string of bad personal choices, gritty detective Karen Cappelletti spends her days cleaning up other people's messes in a small town just outside of Philadelphia. But the mess that's heading her way is personal--and very complicated.

Ten years ago, Karen arrested a man for a vicious assault. Now he's out on parole. A week later, his daughter Tam--sharp-tongued, magnetic, and dangerously interested in Karen--reports a corpse on her driveway. And then there's Ali, a compassionate artist with stunning blue eyes who stirs feelings Karen has spent a lifetime denying.

The clock is ticking. With the town spooked, a body on the ground, and both Tam and Ali tangled in Karen's thoughts, the detective must navigate a case with too many questions and not enough answers.

Someone's playing a long game. And if Karen can't outsmart them, she won't just lose the case--she could lose everything, including the love she never saw coming.

Author: Beth Strauss
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 10/21/2025
Pages: 286
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.72lbs
Size: 8.25h x 5.50w x 0.65d
ISBN: 9781642476941

About the Author
Strauss, Beth: -

Beth Strauss is an educator, freelance journalist, and novelist. After a career in academia and the health sciences, she pursued her first love: writing. Beth completed her Master's degree in journalism at Harvard and published stories in local papers and academic journals. Following this, she realized she preferred the freedom of creative writing over the regimented styles of academia and journalism. A native Californian, Beth eventually headed east to Philadelphia and now bounces between both coasts. When she is not writing, she enjoys pottery and photography, as well as taking hikes with her rescue pup, Maddie.