P. K. Norton

Amy Lynch rustles up a brand-new mystery ... and learns that knowledge of local history can be worth its weight in gold.The crime of cattle rustling didn't die with the old west. It's alive and well at the Madonna Inn and Ranch in San Luis Obispo, California. The Madonna family isn't a bit happy about it. Neither is New England Casualty & Indemnity, the company which insures the Madonnas.Insurance investigator Amy Lynch heads west to assess the situation. She becomes acquainted with two of the Madonna cowhands - Gus, who is recently deceased under questionable circumstances and Lance, who is handsome and dashing - and very much alive.Amy learns the ins and outs of cattle ranching, as well as the local legends dating back to the days of the gold rush. The plot thickens rapidly and the body count increases, nearly including Amy herself.

Dead men tell no tales. Is that why Tom Griffin is lying near death in a Cape Cod hospital? Because of what he could reveal about Waltower-a top secret government project underway at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute?That's what Amy Lynch aims to learn. As an investigator for New England Casualty and Indemnity, Amy's job is to look into the supposed accident that put Tom into a coma. Amy has a personal stake as well. Tom Griffin is an old friend. Her first love. She struggles to keep her emotions in check as she seeks to discover what really happened to Tom. And why.Amy fights her way through the sand-bagging she receives from WHOI. They say the project is need-to-know. Well, Amy needs to know. And the clearer the situation becomes to her, the greater the threat to her safety. Will she uncover the truth in time to save herself from the same fate as Tom?

Does the past ever really leave us? Not in Amy Lynch's world. What starts out to be a well-deserved vacation for Amy - volunteering at an archaeological dig on the outskirts of Paris - turns ugly when the head archaeologist is found dead at the dig-site. A recently uncovered relic from World War II threatens to expose treachery and betrayal from the time of the German Occupation. It endangers the life of anybody bold enough to delve into its significance. New England Casualty and Indemnity, the insurance company where Amy works as a claims investigator, is insuring the dig. Amy's world turns upside-down as she reverts from vacation mode to conduct a full-blown investigation. She meets with obstacles, resistance and threats to her own safety - as well as an adorable Frech detective - in her quest to unmask a traitor.

Norton weaves realistic professional procedure and unexpected emotional jolts into the otherwise erotic flavor of Key West, creating a debut that will seriously contend for all the "Best First" awards.-author Jeremiah Healy P. K. Norton introduces a new heroine to mystery fans Everybody loves Chef Garcia's key lime coconut petit fours. Some even say they're to die for. When four guests die at a wedding at the Beaux R ves Hotel, the famous petit fours are blamed. Insurance investigator Amy Lynch flies from Boston to Key West to prepare for a wrongful death suit, her first trip to the island since her fianc died there three years ago. Amy's investigation is beset with problems from the get-go. The hotel management is pushing for a quick settlement regardless of fault. The local police are calling the event a tragic accident. Most potential witnesses are missing, deceased or unhelpful. The ghost of Amy's fianc haunts her as she fends off pressures from all sides and copes with uncertainties concerning her new relationship. She encounters death at every turn. The health inspector who monitored the hotel kitchen dies in an auto accident; the reporter who covered the incident for the local paper turns up drowned; even a homeless woman Amy befriends is found dead. And deceased wildlife crosses her path more than once. As she forges on in the face of these obstacles, Amy wonders if Key West is the tropical paradise of the travel brochures or a petri dish of death.