What s a good mystery story without a beautiful blonde to set things in motion? When the femme sharing a bench with Mallory in the Port City, Iowa, bus station is accosted by a scar-faced, one-eyed thug, the aspiring writer stops minding his own business and leaps into the fray with nothing but his fists and a well-aimed Pepsi bottle. Once the dust clears, the battered brute flees, and the damsel is saved, Mallory figures that s the end of it. But when the pretty stranger suddenly drops back into his life after violently losing hers the real trouble is only just beginning. It s no surprise that Sheriff Brennan wants to quickly close the case, since it threatens to open a can of worms involving political secrets and powerful people. But the harder Brennan tries to declare the death an accident, the louder Mallory screams bloody murder. It s not enough to wake the dead but it may just bring a killer to his doorstep."