The Dead Season - (A Shana Merchant Novel) by Tessa Wegert (Paperback)

About the Book

"Senior Investigator Shana Merchant has spent years running from her past. But she never imagined a murder case would bring her to the most dangerous place of all-home. After leaving the NYPD following her abduction by serial killer Blake Bram, Shana Merchant hoped for a fresh start in the Thousand Islands of Upstate New York. Her former tormentor has other plans. Shana and Bram share more than just a hometown, and he won't let her forget it. When the decades-old skeleton of Shana's estranged uncle is uncovered, Bram issues a challenge: Return home to Vermont and solve the cold case, or the blood he spills next will be on her hands. As Shana interviews members of her family and the community, mining for secrets that could help her solve her uncle's murder, she begins to realize how little she remembers of her childhood. And when Bram grows impatient and kidnaps again, leaving a trail of clues Shana alone can understand, she knows his new victim will only survive if she wins the psychopath's twisted game. In order to solve one mystery, Shana must wade into her murky past to unravel another"--

Book Synopsis

Senior Investigator Shana Merchant has spent years running from her past. But she never imagined a murder case would drive her to the most dangerous place of all--home.

After leaving the NYPD following her abduction by serial killer Blake Bram, Shana Merchant hoped for a fresh start in the Thousand Islands of Upstate New York. Her former tormentor has other plans. Shana and Bram share more than just a hometown, and he won't let her forget it. When the decades-old skeleton of Shana's estranged uncle is uncovered, Bram issues a challenge: Return home to Vermont and solve the cold case, or the blood he spills next will be on her hands.

As Shana interviews members of her family and the community, mining for secrets that could help her solve her uncle's murder, she begins to realize how little she remembers of her childhood. And when Bram grows impatient and kidnaps again, leaving a trail of clues Shana alone can understand, she knows his new victim will only survive if she wins the psychopath's twisted game. In order to solve one mystery, Shana must wade into her murky past to unravel another.

Review Quotes

"Chilling psychological thriller meets gripping police procedural in this relentlessly compelling cat and mouse game of buried secrets and family heartbreak. Tessa Wegert is such a skilled and confident storyteller! I could not put this down."--Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of The First to Lie

Additional Praise for Tessa Wegert and Death in the Family

"Wegert offers an intense read that will grab your attention and not let go, even after the last page is turned."--Christine Carbo, bestselling author of A Sharp Solitude

"Intricate plotting and a razor-sharp narration keep the pages turning in this up-all-night murder mystery. Menacing and atmospheric, Death in the Family will have you on the edge of your seat rooting for Detective Shana Merchant to uncover the truth and triumph over the scars of her own dark past. A tense, riveting read!" --Wendy Walker, USA Today bestselling author of The Night Before

"A deliciously complicated locked-room mystery that would make Agatha Christie proud. Add a savvy sleuth battling her own demons and the result is an up-to-date and thrilling ride. Death in the Family definitely deserves a place on your must-read list." -Margaret Coel, New York Timesbestselling author of Winter's Child

"Tessa Wegert's Death in the Family assembles delicious ingredients--isolation, a ticking clock, family secrets--and creates a mystery at once familiar and distinctly her own. Bloody good comfort food."--Andrew Pyper, bestselling author of The Homecoming and The Demonologist

"Death In The Family is an ominous, compelling take on the locked-room mystery, teeming with old secrets, twisty motives, and a prickly, damaged detective determined to prove herself. Tessa Wegert expertly ratchets up the tension, turning an idyllic island claustrophobic as the characters' tangled pasts unravel and the killer closes in. Compulsively readable and utterly satisfying, with an ending that will leave you desperate for Shana's next case."-Erica O'Rourke, author Dissonance and Time of Death as Lucy Kerr

"This locked-room thriller has all of the requisite tangled motives and deductive crime-solving, along with a riveting introduction to edgy survivor Shana and Tim, her steady, easygoing foil."--Booklist

About the Author

Tessa Wegert is a Canadian expat, journalist, and former digital media strategist. Her business and marketing articles have appeared in such publications as Forbes, The Huffington Post, Adweek, and The Economist.