USA Today bestselling author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson is back with the thirteenth thrilling installment in the Rachel Ryder series. Perfect for fans of Tana French and Louise Penny who crave small-town secrets with deadly consequences.

In small-town Georgia, digging into dangerous secrets can be deadly—and Detective Rachel Ryder is about to uncover them all.

Reporter Layla Rowe made enemies by asking the wrong questions in the right places. Now she's dead, her laptop is missing, and someone in Hamby, Georgia wants her final story buried with her.

Detective Rachel Ryder thought she knew every secret in her tight-knit community. But what Layla uncovered reveals a conspiracy that runs deeper than anyone imagined—forged documents, illegal land grabs, and a network of payoffs that reaches into the darkest corners of city hall.

But as Rachel gets closer to the truth, she realizes Layla wasn't just killed to stop a story. She was killed to send a message.

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Praise for Carolyn Ridder Aspenson and the Rachel Ryder series:

"Detective Rachel Ryder is smart, tough, and fearless—readers will gladly follow her through every twist.” —LynDee Walker, Amazon Charts bestselling author of Fear No Truth

"Tight writing, unexpected twists, and the tough but vulnerable lead Detective Rachel Ryder will leave you eager to read the next book..." —Susan Hunter, author of Dangerous Habits

"Rachel Ryder is a new heroine on the suspense scene that you'll want to engage with again and again." —Kimberly Charleston, Books Uplift