Life Without Parole

Fans of J.A. Jance and Lisa Gardner will love this exploration of the little-known job of death investigator in small-town Missouri where Angela Richman finds herself investigating the lives and secrets of the one percenters in Chouteau Forest.

Chouteau Forest''s wealthy are being targeted by the Ghost Burglars, who''ve carried out twelve burglaries over two weeks. So far, there''s been no bloodshed . . . until Tom Lockridge is brutally slain inside his marble mansion during the latest raid.

Angela Richman, death investigator for Chouteau County, is called to assess the scene and the body by Detective Jace Budewitz. As they investigate, Jace becomes obsessed with proving the Ghost Burglars weren''t involved in the murder.

Can the burglars be ruled out so easily? Is there more to Cynthia Lockridge, Tom''s wife, seeking solace in the arms of the ambitious local lawyer Wesley Desloge? What about Tom''s long-suffering daughter, or his loose-lipped housekeeper or office manager? Everyone is keeping secrets, but whose erupted into violence that fateful night?