Muddy Waters

Maggie Toussaint's Muddy Waters is a romantic suspense novel that draws the reader into the story from the first page with the pull of the tide against the Georgia coast.
Roxie Whitaker inherited her grandmother's real estate firm and though there is not a high demand for homes in Mossy Bog she is determined to make a go of her responsibility.
Sloan Harding is the boy from across the tracks who has established a niche for himself in Atlanta, but is drawn back to his grandfather's house where he live a "hit and miss life" with a drunk for a father. The one person who had faith in him was Roxie's grandmother.
The small cottages they inherited are in aging states of disrepair and Roxie has one client who is persistent in his desire to obtain Sloan's cottage. Property management is a venue that keeps Roxie afloat and Sloan hires her to oversee the restoration of his cottage. Roxie accepts with visions of an eventual sale floating through her dreams.

Roxie returns home to find her home ransacked, which adds impetus to a feeling she has endured for several days that someone is watching her. What's a girl to do when she doesn't feel safe in her own home? Sloan may not be acceptable to the Mossy Bog's citizens, but he provides a safe haven (maybe).

This is a fun read and a delightful break from some heavy tomes.
Visit with Maggie at http://maggietoussaint.com
Nash Black, author of Haints.

Broken

Karin Slaughter's Broken will be her next award winner. The complex story of depression, revenge, greed, disabilities, and hatred is told with the stunning brilliance of a master writer.
There is never any let-up in this fast-paced police procedural. A young woman is murdered and the young man who is arrested for her killing commits suicide in his cell.
Their deaths reunited some of Slaughter's most intriguing characters as Dr. Sara Linton calls the state crime division to report Detective Lena Adams for negligence and lying about the circumstances surrounding the arrest. Dr. Linton believes this previous behavior of evading responsibility caused the death of her husband and she wants Lena punished.

Special Agent Will Trent is sent to the scene to investigate and is thwarted at every turn by the members of the force to prevent him from doing his job. He must turn both to Sara and Lena for help after the boy friend of the murdered girl is also killed by the same methods. The conflict between the two woman is detrimental to his efforts to complete his investigation, but for both women an internal devotion to their respective jobs finally supersedes their hatred of each other.
Slaughter exhibits a fantastic talent for descriptive prose that will have you putting the book in your lap to savor her images. Her strength shows in the small ordinary experiences of life and vividness of the surroundings. She handles the raw scenes of death with the crisp flat style of a police report, never broaching sensationalism.

I had the privilege of sharing a head table at a writing workshop with Karin. One of the things we discussed was, "Why are women never taught to protect and respect themselves as children?" It is a question I've not forgotten and for which I still seek an answer.
Broken will be available in bookstores everywhere in late June, until then you can visit with Karin, who loves to get letters at http://karinslaughter.com/.

Nash Black, author of Writing as a Small Business and Haints.