Reflections — Jo Bannister

SINS OF THE MOTHER

Brodie Farrell's "Looking for Something?" investigation agency specializes in tracking down everything from the mundane to the murderous. It is the latter, now, that involves Brodie in the family life of a murdered woman, stabbed by her husband in a jealous rage. The couple's two daughters, fourteen and eleven, had the misfortune to discover the body. Brodie needs to find someone to care for the girls, but soon her job -- and her interest -- becomes dangerously personal. She enlists the help of her friend Daniel Hood, a teacher, to act as the girls' tutor while the police hunt for their missing father. But Daniel uncovers some terrible truths about the victim and her household -- inconsistencies that further complicate the case. And it is he who begins to unlock the tragic secrets at the heart of the murder, finding himself at the edge of sanity and dread as he is forced to confront the shocking nature of the crime.