Shaking Hands With the Loser — John Dixon

Twenty years after witnessing her father's death, Emillie Pankhurst returns to the scene, trying to make sense of the horrors she experienced as a six-year-old. Cumberland, Maryland boasts enviable crime figures and an unassailable Chief of Police with a seemingly unblemished record, but all is not as it seems. She soon discovers to her cost that her enquiries into past events are not received enthusiastically. As Emillie's investigation into her father's shooting intensifies, she becomes embroiled, not just in a private revenge mission, but in uncovering a disturbing web of corruption and brutality at the heart of law enforcement. Drawn into covert operations against her will, she finds her personal quest for justice developing into an international news story as a tense battle of wills unfolds. It is a battle she knows she cannot afford to lose.