Zeke followed a murderer from the Wild West out to the East Coast and before he was able to make an arrest, he was shot in the back and died in the house that Rory now calls home. Zeke and Mac had an arrangement whereby Zeke helped Mac with some of his cases and Mac agreed to try and look into Zeke’s murder, no matter how cold the case. While reviewing Mac’s client list, Rory comes across the file for the murder of Gail Oberlin. Gail’s brother Jeremy is convinced that Gail was murdered and convinces Rory to pick up Mac’s investigation where he left off.

Rory knows police work, but is not sure where to draw lines as a part-time PI. She quickly learns that Gail had many enemies and no one, save Jeremy, is sad to see her dead. Rory also realizes she is on the right track as she becomes a killer’s next target.  

Rory is a great new heroine, she’s smart, tough and has a good sense of humor, especially when dealing with Zeke. She’s not entirely comfortable in her current life’ she had been living at home with her parents and some of the shine has worn off her job in the police department, but she’s not really sure what to do next and Mac’s legacy may just give her the chance. The mystery is well plotted, though the reader is likely to figure out the murderer from the first time he appears. 

The ending is a little rushed as Rory’s new life begins to take shape and more details would have made it more believable. The banter between Zeke and Rory is fun and looks back into Zeke’s life in the nineteenth century west add to the atmosphere of the novel. A good first mystery, and the way the book ended it will be interesting to see how it shapes up over the next few books.                                        

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry