When the Levee Breaks

Hilarious and heartfelt with the perfect dash of grit, the latest mystery featuring Layla Virtue finds the 30-something former cop and aspiring musician newly sober and starting over in a Potomac County trailer park—but solving murders is still second nature . . .

If there’s a level below rock bottom, Layla Virtue may have just hit it. Losing her law enforcement career, her partner, and the trust of her fellow cops was one thing. Having to design a playground for her trailer park’s pet pig? Now that’s indignity. Still, life at Lake Pinecrest is considerably more interesting with Layla’s father, famous rocker Don Virtue, in residence . . .

Between a sideline playing whatever venues her agent can book (Cher tribute, anyone?) and keeping Don out of trouble, Layla is busy. Not so busy, though, that she’s going to turn down an offer from her old commissioner to work as a private consultant on a stalled homicide case. Being back in the precinct will give Layla more opportunity for a secret, off-books investigation into police corruption.

The victim is CEO of Lavish, a high-end bath and beauty product company. Lavish may pride itself on clean ingredients, but its work environment is toxic. There are disgruntled employees and duplicitous motives galore—a common thread in Layla’s life. But these days, she also has a loyal crew, including her roommate, Nick, and her AA buddies. Collectively, they’re making Layla wonder if Virtue Investigations can become more than a temporary cover story—providing she can figure out who’s not to be trusted, before they succeed in taking her down for good . . .