Donna Ball

Buck Lawson faces his most difficult challenge yet this thrilling second installment of The Blood River seriesWith the Fourth of July coming up and the Mercy police force already stretched to its limit, police chief Buck Lawson investigates a fraud complaint that leads him to a missing newborn and a terrified, runaway mother. At the same time, the skeletal remains of two young boys are discovered buried on the property of a prominent citizen. As if that weren't enough, the ghost of Buck's predecessor, former chief Billy Aikens, pays him an unexpected visit... only this time it is not Billy's ghost, but his son, Junior. Junior's purpose in returning to Mercy is as mysterious as it is unsettling, and Buck gradually comes to suspect that Junior holds the key to at least one, if not both, of his current cases. Though still adjusting to a new job, a new town, and a new family, Buck is acutely aware that the probationary period specified by his contract with the City of Mercy is almost up. His relationship with the mayor has never been ideal, and he knows he could be fired at any time. It therefore seems imprudent to refuse when the mayor asks him to do a favor for an old friend and political ally, Jarrod Whitley. Whitley is the owner of the legendary Hollowgrove Plantation, which has been an institution in South Georgia for 200 years. The completely self-sustaining 9400-acre estate operates under its own set of rules which includes, as Buck soon comes to understand, a uniquely self-serving interpretation of the law. But when a young woman is murdered, the web of secrecy protecting Hollowgrove begins to unravel, revealing a network of illegal activity that has gone undeterred for decades. It's up to Buck and his small band of loyal officers to do what no one has been able to do before: stop this empire of crime before anyone else dies. But time is running out, and the ruthless operators will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried. "Ball does a great job of building suspense, and weaving different elements of mystery together in a story that oozes Southern gothic and atmospheric setting..."--Booklife Reviews on Unfixable

Book #14 in the Award-Winning Raine Stockton Dog Mystery SeriesRaine Stockton knows dogs, not kids. Nonetheless, she is supremely confident in her ability to take care her fianc 's ten year old daughter, Melanie, for a week while he is out of town. After all, how hard could it be?But things get complicated when Raine and her golden retriever, Cisco, rescue a dog who is locked in a hot car in a remote Smoky Mountain park... and subsequently discover the owner of that car drowned in the creek only a few dozen yards away. Was it an accident, or was it murder?Raine is certain that she recognizes the abandoned dog from her puppy training class six years ago. Mere months later, the dog, along with his three-year-old owner, disappeared from the child's bedroom during the night and were never seen again. Now the dog is back, and Raine is convinced his reappearance might hold the key to the truth about the missing child. The problem is that no one believes her.While Raine tries to unravel the mystery of the abandoned dog's past-and a six-year-old missing child case-her ex-husband, criminal investigator Buck Lawson, opens an investigation into the death of the man in whose car the dog was found. He soon finds himself involved in another cold case, one that leads him from an apparent serial killer in Florida to a murder in his own hometown.The one thing that ties the two cases together is the dog whose shadowy history opens the door to questions better left unasked, and whose answers may prove to be deadly. But when lives are in danger, it is up to Raine and Cisco to track down the truth, even though it means risking someone she loves.

From the winner of the Dog Writer's Association of America "Best Fiction Book of the Year 2017"award comes this thrilling new installment in the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery series. The annual Hansonville, North Carolina Founder's Day Festival always draws plenty of locals and tourists alike who are eager to immerse themselves in the Smoky Mountain culture and show their support for local businesses and civic organizations. For dog trainer and Humane Society volunteer Raine Stockton, it's a perfect opportunity to raise money for the local animal shelter. But when a stranger wanders into her fund-raising booth with his young daughter and their beautiful black Lab, the peaceful country afternoon is turned into chaos. Within moments the man is arrested for murder, his child is placed in foster care, and Raine finds herself the temporary custodian of what may well be the most valuable dog in the world. While Raine's ex-husband, the newly appointed county investigator Buck Lawson, tries to sort out the tangled threads of a murder case that isn't even his own, Raine discovers that the man they've taken into custody is the world-famous research scientist Dr. Jason Broderick and that the Labrador, Bongo, is one of an elite group of dogs Broderick has bred and trained to detect concealed micro-technology. Raine can't believe that someone she so admires could be guilty of murder, particularly when she learns that one of his associates is her own fianc , Miles Young. But is her faith in both men misplaced? It turns out that Bongo has skills that go beyond even those of his fellow scent-detecting canines-skills that are worth billions of dollars to some people, and are worth killing for to others. When the unthinkable happens and an innocent life is placed in jeopardy, Raine is forced to make a terrible choice: one that will shake her to her very core and cause her to question not only herself, but everything she has ever believed.

Book #12 in the Best-Selling Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Series Hollywood has come to the scenic Smoky Mountain community of Hanover County, and dog trainer Raine Stockton can't resist the opportunity when her dogs are offered a chance at a role in the film. Naturally, she expects her showy golden retriever, Cisco, to win the part, but Cisco's impetuous nature does him in, and the role goes to her twin Australian Shepherds, Mischief and Magic. For the first time in his young life, Cisco is left behind. Film-making turns out not to be as exciting as Raine had expected, and the only upside to the long, mostly boring days is the new friend she makes on set, a stunt woman by the name of Dallas McKenzie. But it doesn't take Raine long to discover that Dallas is a woman of secrets and lies, and trouble seems to follow her wherever she goes. The set is plagued by accidents and vandalism, and Dallas always seems to be at the center of everything that goes wrong. But even Raine can't imagine how wrong things have yet to go. Meanwhile, Raine agrees to investigate a case for her lawyer friend Sonny involving a service dog who is accused of biting a child. The case seems open and shut until Cisco, who is beginning to show some talent as a medical alert dog, sniffs out evidence that throws previous theories into disarray-and may shed some light into the mysterious happenings on the movie set. But when Cisco and Raine start to track down answers, they find murder instead. In a world where nothing is what it seems, it's up to Raine and Cisco to find the truth... before it's too late.

"Enthralling" --Kirkus Reviews on the Dogleg Island Mystery Series The second book in the riveting new Dogleg Island mystery series from the author of FLASH. Still recovering from the traumatic events of the past year, newlyweds Aggie Malone, police chief of Dogleg Island, and Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady are looking forward to a casual day trip to Wild Horse Island, a nearby nature preserve, with their precocious-and uncannily perceptive-border collie, Flash. But when Flash discovers a body in a shallow grave on the island, and Aggie and Ryan learn of an attack on the park ranger, a tangled knot of conspiracy, murder and deception begins to unfold. Fifteen hundred miles away, an ex-con and a fifteen year old girl embark upon a crime spree that will earn them the nicknames "Bonnie and Clyde". As they make their way inexorably south, Aggie, Grady and Flash are thrust into the middle of a murder investigation that leads to the arrest of one of their neighbors and the attempted suicide of another. When a search of the dead girl's belongings reveals a priceless emerald bracelet and two of the island's most popular residents go missing, the puzzle becomes even more complicated. Grady and Aggie struggle to put all the pieces into place while Flash, ever obsessed with understanding the human condition, wrestles with a more painful dilemma: how do you tell the good guys from the bad guys when they are so often the same person?