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Summary
Summary
"Small town Colorado police detective Gemma Monroe is a human and fallible heroine I can't wait to meet again, and Littlejohn's prose is lyrical and gripping."--Deborah Crombie
In Emily Littlejohn's follow-up to her acclaimed debut Inherit the Bones , a twisted killer stalks his prey in the dead of winter.
On a cold dark night in February, as a blizzard shrieks through Cedar Valley, police officer and new mother Gemma Monroe responds to an anonymous report of a prowler at the local private high school, The Valley Academy. In her idyllic Colorado small town, Gemma expects the call was just a prank by a bored teenager.
But there in the snow lies the savaged body of a man whose presence in town was meant to be a secret. And a disturbing message left by his killer promises more death to come.
This is only the beginning . . .
Nothing is as it seems in Cedar Valley and stories, both fact and fiction, ensnare Gemma as her investigation moves from the halls of an elite academy to the forests that surround Cedar Valley.
Against a backdrop of bleak winter weather, stymied by those who would lie to protect what is dearest to them, Gemma hunts a ruthless killer before he strikes again in A Season to Lie .
Author Notes
EMILY LITTLEJOHN was born and raised in southern California and now lives in Colorado. If she's not writing, reading, or working at the local public library, she's enjoying the mountains with her husband and sweet old dog. She has a deep love of horror stories, butter pecan ice cream, and road trips. A Season to Lie is her second novel, following Inherit the Bones .
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Littlejohn's lively sequel to 2016's Inherit the Bones, Cedar Valley, Colo., police officer Gemma Monroe returns to work part-time after maternity leave. On a snowy night her first day back, Gemma and her partner, Finn Nowlin, respond to an anonymous caller reporting a prowler at Valley Academy, the elite private school where Gemma was once a student. Instead, Gemma and Finn find the body of best-selling author Delaware Fuente on the school grounds. Fuente came incognito to be a guest lecturer, invited by an old friend employed at the school. Gemma and Finn delve into Delaware's background to try to find out who hated the successful but arrogant writer. Littlejohn effectively shows life in a small mountain town, where people have known each other all their lives and like to think their area is immune to crime. As Gemma adjusts to motherhood, she worries whether her long-time boyfriend will again be unfaithful. Readers will look forward to seeing more of this insightful and likable character. Agent: Pam Ahearn, Ahearn Agency. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
The murder of a famous author seeking refuge in a small town may be connected to bullying at the local high school.On her first day back from maternity leave, Cedar Valley police officer Gemma Monroe and her partner, Finn, are sent to investigate reports of a prowler at Valley Academy, the local high school. There's been talk that one of the students has imitated Banksy by getting a tad too artistic on school property. In spite of near-whiteout conditions, the two officers arrive at the school to find a man in the woods, evidently murdered, with a foreboding message stuffed in his mouth. Finn identifies the victim as famous writer Delaware Fuente, someone neither Gemma nor Finn knew was present in their small town. On investigating further, it appears Delaware arrived incognito months before to stay with his lifelong friend Lila Conway, a loner cat ladythough in this case the cat is a bird named Kojak. Lila housed Delaware while he acted as a writing mentor at Valley Academy, and the school is Gemma and Finn's first stop in their investigation. Although no one claims to have guessed Delaware's identity, students describe some unusual goings-on to the officers. Apparently someone using the moniker "Grimm" has been manipulating students to act out against one another. Is this simply a case of interstudent bullying gone too far, or is it somehow connected to Delaware's visit? Group dynamics are already on Gemma's mind because her former colleague Sam Birdshead, who was wounded in their most recent case (Inherit the Bones, 2016), has decided that he no longer fits in with the police department and intends to leave for employ with unsavory mobster types who may have their own connection to Delaware's death. Littlejohn revisits beloved characters without the bittersweet voice and depth of her series debut, but she indicates clear potential for further development in Cedar Valley. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
It's winter in Colorado, and a quiet, snowy return to work is just what Detective Gemma Monroe is hoping for on her first day back from maternity leave. Fans of Littlejohn's Inherit the Bones (2016) will know what a foolhardy dream that is. A murder at a private high school is just the first of several crimes that may or may not be linked and that Monroe must again put her life on the line to solve. Although Littlejohn's cast of local characters sometimes seems a bit overstuffed, for readers who crave eccentricity, there is much to enjoy in the interactions of oddball teachers who can't get along, old friends whose relationship is a puzzle, even gangsters who land in the country and bring big-city headaches to Monroe's backwoods jurisdiction. The ending includes an unpredictable twist and leaves questions open for a sequel. In the meantime, readers of this quick-to-consume tale could try Louise Penny's equally charming if more substantive Chief Inspector Gamache mysteries, which boast their own endearing eccentrics.--Verma, Henrietta Copyright 2017 Booklist