Bite the Moon — Diane Fanning

When Molly Mullet's husband dies from a gunshot wound inflicted right before her eyes, she abandons her work as a high school chemistry teacher and joins the police force. Now she faces another crossroad in her life. She follows a trail of blood into the closet of Solms Halle, an historic music hall in the Hill Country of Texas. Inside lay the bloodied body of Rodney Faver, band manager for Trenton Wolfe, the hottest new star in country music. Faver--sprawled across boxes with a guitar string embedded in his neck--had a long list of band members, song writers, ex-wives and other associates who wanted him dead. But the chief suspect is Molly's childhood friend and Solmes Halle janitor, Bobby Wiggins. He is arrested and wrongfully charged with the gory murder. Molly embarks on a mission to free Bobby from jail and track down the real killer. Or will he find her first? The long list of eccentric suspects shortens as a psychopath picks them off one by one. Will Molly uncover his identity before she becomes his next victim? Careen through the hills of Texas with Molly Mullet in a race against time as she seeks justice and courts death in Bite the Moon, a suspense-filled journey by Edgar Award nominated true crime writer Diane Fanning.True-crime author Fanning (Through the Window) has written a first-rate debut mystery. Molly Mullet, a chemistry teacher who became a police officer after her husband's violent death, is on guard duty at a historic music hall in the Texas Hill Country when a band manager for a hot new country star is murdered. The club's janitor, a mentally challenged man who was Molly's childhood best friend, is coerced into a confession. Molly sets out to prove his innocence, which changes her life forever. Clean writing and well-drawn characters mix with a fine plot to hold the reader's interest to the end. Fanning lives in Texas Hill Country. --Library Journal