Bitter Roots — C.J. Carmichael

Dispatcher Zak Waller prefers working behind the scenes in the Sheriff's Office of Lost Trail, Montana, but when a newcomer to the sparely populated town is brutally murdered -- and the Sheriff is quick to pin the death on an unknown outsider -- Zak starts his own private sleuthing. On the surface Lost Trail is a picture-perfect western town, offering a simple way of life revolving around the local ranches and ski hill, but Zak knows the truth behind the façade. When his old school friend Tiff Masterson, whose family owns a local Christmas tree farm, moves back to town, the two of them join forces to get to the truth about the murder.