More People, More Problems

No, the title does not mean that this is about politics...although I did vote today in the Missouri primary. So concerned was I about the direction of those running for President that I came extremely close to writing in Tony Blair's name on my ballot. Even though Blair himself was Prime Minister, not President. Of Britain. Not America. So he's ineligible to run. But still a lot better than much of the imperialistic hot air running through the zeitgeist.

I'm actually beginning a new series. My second novel in the Cameron Ballack Mysteries, The Broken Cross, has been out since last fall, and to help you spread the word even further, we're doing a top ten list of reasons why this is an engaging read. So we begin with #10: More People, More Problems.

Readers who recall the intimacy of my first novel, Litany of Secrets, will feel a quick jolt after the first murder of The Broken Cross, when Detectives Cameron Ballack and Tori Vaughan find themselves both on a more complicated case and among a party of four. Joining forces with the Special Investigative Division of Metro St. Louis (admittedly a fabricated subset of the police force of my own making...FYI) is a step up in promotion, but meshing personalities on said case with two other detectives is another matter. And when Ballack himself--the only sleuth not walking around on two legs--is given the opportunity to head up the murder investigation, it merely quickens the initial jealousy welling up within his new partners.

This is not the only relationship that experiences strain. A new promotion means a new boss above Lieutenant Scotty Bosco, who is Ballack's boss on the "normal" St. Charles County cases. The imposing yet circumspect Commander Stu Krieger has difficulty making heads or tails of the brilliant yet sarcastic Ballack, causing the tension between them to crack like popcorn for many pages.

That's one major difference--more people. Of course that only makes sense when the story goes from being all under one roof (like in Litany of Secrets) to the helter-skelter all over St. Louis in The Broken Cross. But that's got to wait for #9 on the list in a couple days.

If you haven't ordered The Broken Cross yet, you can do so here.