After falling off the top rung of the career ladder, big-
city attorney Tal Jefferson lands in her small, Southern
hometown to start her career and her life over. In between
refurbishing her grandmother's old home and getting small-
time clients out of DUI charges, Tal is trying to keep a
low-profile, de-stress and stay away from the booze.
Tal has recently reconnected with a former high-school chum
and famous mysterious portrait painter, Travis Whitlock.
Coincidentally, Travis has recently returned home looking
for the simple life as well. Tal and Travis have an odd,
yet strangely compatible relationship that's based more on
their mutual history and intellect than sex-appeal.
Everything seems to be going according to Tal's new life-
plan until she finds a decapitated head down by the river --
a head that happens to belong to the estranged husband of
her office assistant, June. What follows is a gritty game
of cat-and-mouse between Tal, Travis, June and a band of
rough-and-tumble bad guys who are hell-bent on eliminating
anyone or anything that gets in the way of meeting their
illegal objectives.
I was immediately impressed with the rich, vivid and earthy
descriptions the author gave to every aspect of the book --
the characters, the plot and the scenes. I was captivated
by the mystery of each character, which kept me turning
pages well past my bedtime. The only disappointment for me
was the book ended rather abruptly with many unanswered
questions. The author suggests throughout the book more
information will be divulged about each characters' past,
but then ends before that happens. Overall, I devoured the
book, but was left wanting more!
Leaving the big city and coming back to South Carolina was
the best thing attorney Tal Jefferson ever did. Even though
she's still haunted by the ghosts of her past, she's
finally given up the booze and started letting the
tranquility of her hometown work its way through her veins.
But her life is thrust back into turmoil when she and a
high school acquaintance make a gruesome discovery in the
Wynnton River. A man has been murdered-and soon, he's
identified as the estranged husband of Tal's fierce-hearted
secretary, June Atkins. In a town full of racism and self-
delusion, Tal will have to clear June's name and save them
both from a murderer who'll do anything to save himself.