A Deadly Business

April 21, 2014
In Wiehl and Henry’s uneven second Mia Quinn mystery (after 2013’s A Matter of Trust), Mia, a prosecutor in Seattle’s King County Violent Crimes Unit, must decide whether three 15-year-old boys, whose thoughtless actions resulted in severe injury to a young mother, should be charged as juveniles or adults. Meanwhile, Mia and her children—14-year-old Gabe and three-year-old Brooke—are still adjusting to the loss of her accountant husband, Scott. His death in a car accident seven months earlier wasn’t an accident, according to Det. Charlie Carlson. Mia’s efforts to discover Scott’s secrets attract the attentions of an enforcer named Vin. The suspense rises as Mia and Charlie close in on a killer, but the mix of mystery, romance (Mia attracts both Charlie and DA Eli Hall), and social issues never quite gels. Agent: Todd Shuster, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency.

June 15, 2014

Mia Quinn, a recently widowed prosecutor and mother of two, is trying to keep her life together, but when someone breaks into her house, she realizes that the boundary she has maintained between work and home has been breached. Det. Charlie Carlson, her frequent partner in cases, has more bad news. He has discovered evidence that proves her husband's fatal accident was anything but. As Mia starts fitting the pieces of the puzzle together, it becomes clear that the man she thought she knew was involved in something even darker than she realized. VERDICT Wiehl's experience as a former federal prosecutor gives the narrative an authenticity in its depiction of the criminal justice system. Henry's expertise in writing mysteries and thrillers has placed her on the short-list for the Agatha, Anthony, and Oregon Book awards. The coauthors' second installment (after A Matter of Trust) in this fast-paced detective series will keep legal thriller readers and John Grisham fans totally engrossed.

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