Former detective turned noted author and dog trainer, Carol Lea Benjamin, returns with her celebrated dark and edgy suspense series featuring smart and compelling private investigator Rachel Alexander – a new addition to the Morrow/Avon list.

A New York City police officer nearing retirement dies "accidentally," while cleaning his service revolver in the bathroom of his Greenwich Village apartment. Private investigator, Rachel Alexander, is stunned to learn she's been named the executor to his will––after all, they'd only met when she was doing pet therapy with her pit bull, Dashiell. A member of Rachel's 9/11 survivors group, the officer never spoke at meetings––a really hard case. But then there was the one time he took Dash for a walk around the block. When Dash returned, the fur on his head was soaked with tears....

Was this death really a suicide? And why would the deceased have chosen a near stranger to perform such an intimate task––especially when he's survived by a brother and sister? As Rachel sets about her work, she soon discovers a mystery from the deceased's childhood that may have led to this terrible tragedy....

Private investigator Rachel Alexander and her pit bull Dashiell return in this stylish, dark, emotionally complex seventh mystery from former detective and noted dog trainer Carol Lea Benjamin.

When a distraught father approaches private investigator Rachel Alexander in a New York City park, asking her to help find his missing wife, Rachel accepts––reluctantly. After all, the chances of finding a woman who disappeared without a trace––and without a word––five years earlier are slim. But it's the missing woman's daughter who touches her most deeply––a troubled young girl whose mother's disappearance has rendered her mute. The child is also suspected of the murder of her doctor, a rich neurologist who was brutally stabbed one night while he was alone in his office. Rachel knows the disturbed girl can't be a murderer, but her investigation reveals that against all odds, it could be someone from her past. And against a backdrop of betrayal, neglect, and a city at times as lonely and frightening as a child's worst nightmares, Rachel's involvement in the case uncovers issues more complex, and more heartbreaking, than she's ever seen––problems that someone was willing to die, or even kill, for.

It's tough shooting for stardom when there's a war on. But Rosie's got enough pluck for two: she's willing to stumble around in a Broadway dance chorus that she has no right to be a part of, in a musical that's got "flop" written all over it. And all the while, she's worrying about her missing-in-action soldier boyfriend, who hasn't written in months. Lately, she's also been keeping bad company with her mob-muscle pal, Al, who's dabbling in a host of shady money-making enterprises in this time of shortages and rationing. But despite his illicit line of work, Al's no killer. When the cops finger him for his girlfriend's murder, Rosie and Jayne, her close compatriot/fellow castmate, set out to clear big Al's name, and plunge into an intricate backstage drama featuring a bevy of suspiciously well-dressed wannabe starlets. But the plot could soon be taking another lethal turn, bringing a final curtain down on Rosie, Jayne, and all their good intentions.