Dreams can inspire, crush-and even kill. For Karen Mehaffey, going for the stars-the sheriff's stars-wasn't turning out to be a dream come true. Flood waters are rising along with the thermometer, and the last thing she needs is a homicide. Detective Marek Okerlund, on the other hand, welcomes any distraction from the anniversary of his wife's death and from his mother-in-law's unannounced visit. When Karen calls back her old classmate Adam Van Eck to look after his ailing mother, he reluctantly returns from pounding the boards on Broadway-and is found days later, shotgun in hand, with his mother planted dead in her garden. Who other than Adam could possibly want the retired schoolteacher dead? The only link to her life outside her garden is the Dream Team, a group of high school students dreaming up ways to revitalize the dying county of Eda, South Dakota. With the detritus of dead dreams all around, Karen and Marek must flush out a killer. Before the levee breaks. Neither cozy nor hardboiled, DEAD DREAMS is a character-driven police procedural of a rural bent. Second in series. Word Count: 91,000. Occasional profanity. Minimal gore.