Burn Away: An Adam Dutton & Beverly Laborde Mystery

When Beverly Laborde becomes a con artist to exact vengeance on the man who shut down her grandmother's antiques business and sent her to an early grave, she comes face to face with the handsome but haunted Vermont police detective, Adam Dutton—who doesn’t know whether to arrest her or ask her out on a date.

But Beverly and Adam soon face an even worse problem than their inconvenient growing attraction toward each other: they've both incurred the wrath of the wealthy and formidable Reginald Forsythe. Forsythe’s criminal tendrils seem to reach into all areas of Vermont politics and the Northeastern Antiquities League. And he’ll do anything to keep his dark secrets safe.

Beverly and Adam enlist the help of a sympathetic antiques dealer and the mysterious “Mr. X,” but will it be enough to prove Forsythe is guilty not only of theft and bribery but possibly murder? Beverly and Adam soon learn that even though they may not be able to outgun their nemesis individually, together they just might have a fighting chance.

What's a cop to do when his best friend is accused of murder?

Vermont Detective Adam Dutton has to make one of the hardest arrests of his life—his friend and godfather, Harlan Wilford, who stands accused of murder. Meanwhile, slightly reformed con woman Beverly LaBorde has returned to Ironwood Junction to take her first tentative steps toward a more normal life and maybe romance with a certain handsome detective.

Neither Adam nor Beverly believe for a minute that honest Harlan is capable of murder, but who framed him and why? Was it a disgruntled former customer of Harlan's antiques business or another attempt by the crooked members of the Northeast Antiquities League to get back at Adam?

With Adam and Beverly's nemesis, Mayor Titus Lemann, piling on the pressure, and his wife—who also happens to be Adam's ex—piling on the seduction, Adam and Beverly must dodge personal and professional land mines before they blow up in their faces. Harlan's freedom may not be the only thing at stake, as Adam and Beverly begin to wonder if they'll ever be able to take their relationship to the next level.

When Beverly Laborde becomes a con artist to exact vengeance on the man who shut down her grandmother's antiques business and sent her to an early grave, she comes face to face with the handsome but haunted Vermont police detective, Adam Dutton—who doesn’t know whether to arrest her or ask her out on a date.

But Beverly and Adam soon face an even worse problem than their inconvenient growing attraction toward each other: they've both incurred the wrath of the wealthy and formidable Reginald Forsythe. Forsythe’s criminal tendrils seem to reach into all areas of Vermont politics and the Northeastern Antiquities League. And he’ll do anything to keep his dark secrets safe.

Beverly and Adam enlist the help of a sympathetic antiques dealer and the mysterious “Mr. X,” but will it be enough to prove Forsythe is guilty not only of theft and bribery but possibly murder? Beverly and Adam soon learn that even though they may not be able to outgun their nemesis individually, together they just might have a fighting chance.

Crime consultant Scott Drayco is in the middle of a thorny case in Washington, D.C. involving murder victims who were all wheelchair-bound. Then, out of the blue, he gets a worried call from a friend on Virginia's Eastern Shore about an attack on an innocent disabled girl.

Working once again with Sheriff Sailor and Deputy Nelia Tyler, Drayco discovers almost everyone believes the girl's attack was an accident. But he begins to suspect otherwise when he crosses paths with a badly disfigured man and the man's enigmatic Goth son, as well as one of the smoothest and most dangerous figures Drayco has encountered in his career.

Meanwhile, his conflicted feelings toward the soon-to-be-divorced town councilman's wife, Darcie Squier, continue to simmer under the surface and threaten to undermine his focus and cloud his judgement. But he's well aware he needs to keep his faculties razor-sharp if he's to solve the riddle of whether the cases in D.C. and the Eastern Shore are linked - or is he dealing with not one monster, but two? 

PRAISE FOR BV LAWSON'S SCOTT DRAYCO SERIES

"Lawson uses the gothic features of the abandoned Opera House to great effect, creating an atmospheric background for the crimes and the solving of them, all of it accompanied with music that's almost like another character. The pace never sagged and it kept me enthralled." - Long and Short Reviews

"Lawson's book was so good, I read it twice from beginning to end...The citizens of Cape Unity are as diverse and multi-layered as any person living in the large cities, and Lawson portrayed them splendidly." - Reader's Favorite Reviews

"The storyline here is nicely structured, and creatively ties together two murder mysteries, which occurred decades apart. The small town setting is ideal, the lead character engaging, and the supporting cast interesting and diverse. Overall, a solid start to this series." - Omnimystery News

"A nice tight mystery in a realistic setting. Totally enjoyable." - Terrie Farley Moran, national bestselling author of the Read 'Em and Eat Mystery Series

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Pediatrician Kent Abner received the package on a beautiful April morning. Inside was a cheap trinket, a golden egg that could be opened into two halves. When he pried it apart, highly toxic airborne fumes entered his body—and killed him.

After Eve Dallas calls the hazmat team—and undergoes testing to reassure both her and her husband that she hasn’t been exposed—it’s time to look into Dr. Abner’s past and relationships. Not every victim Eve encounters is an angel, but it seems that Abner came pretty close—though he did ruffle some feathers over the years by taking stands for the weak and defenseless. While the lab tries to identify the deadly toxin, Eve hunts for the sender. But when someone else dies in the same grisly manner, it becomes clear that she’s dealing with either a madman—or someone who has a hidden and elusive connection to both victims.

Category Keywords:  crime fiction, FBI agents, murder, private detective, suspense, mysteries, thrillers, mystery & detective, private investigator series, detective novel series, literary mystery, murder mystery series,  serial killers, vengeful, mystery series, thriller books, crime books, suspense books, J.A. Jance, Tana French, Louise Penny, Karin Slaughter