Telling Lies

June 1, 1992
Left lying for hours in a rain-splattered Los Angeles alley with a bullet in her brain, political firebrand Dr. Emily Duschamps is comatose. Her sister Maggie MacGowen, a filmmaker/amateur sleuth last seen in No Harm , searches Los Angeles for the would-be murderer in this sharply written mystery. Although beloved by her colleagues and community, Emily has a formidable list of enemies including the FBI, a couple who believe she killed their son, former activists and politicians. These comprise the initial list of suspects. Numbered among her friends are some of the most influential people in the city and, contrary to Maggie's hope, the evidence indicates that one of them is the would-be assassin. Her investigation takes her through skid row, into the past and their family's antiwar activism and into a murderous trap from which she barely escapes. Maggie is up against an assailant ready to kill and determined to reveal some secrets about Emily's politics that could destroy the only thing she has left--her reputation. Hornsby's cinematic eye for detail, witty dialogue and credible surprise ending yield a compelling and evocative read.