The Deadly Betrayed

Book 2, Tori Carlin Mysteries

52k words

An edgy mystery tempered with a dash of romance and food references, this second book in the Tori Carlin Mystery series is set in the Laurentian mountains north of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Tori Carlin is a sleuth in her early fifties, mature in age but youthful in outlook. She's been through a divorce, raised two children to adulthood, and survived breast cancer. She'll tell you having been pensioned prematurely was painful at the time, but turned out to be a gift from the universe.

In this adventure, Tori travels to the Laurentian mountains to visit her oldest friend, Annie Marchand. It's the second week in October, the trees haven't yet shaken off their resplendent fall foliage, and an unseasonably warm week is promised.

A tranquil walk in the woods leads the friends to an abandoned picnic site where they discover the body of a young woman snagged in the embrace of a submerged tree carcass.

While Tori channels her inner detective in persuit of the killer, she reunites with her secret crush, detective Theo Vincent, and her grumpy nephew, detective Sasha Hamel. Romance takes a back seat as Tori's sleuthing launches her on a series of events that culminate in a face-off with a deranged killer in a remote chalet.

Warning: some language, references to abortion, and scenes of sexuality may offend some readers.