Now, years later, she has returned with the signed confession of the man who actually raped the girl and has vowed to learn the truth of her father's murder. Willie Bond calls Chantalene and promises her information, but when she arrives at the store the next morning, Willie has been brutally murdered. Now Chantalene finds herself in the sheriff's custody as either a material witness or a suspect.

When another long time local man is found dead, Chantalene knows that whoever was involved in her father's death is still nearby and is not willing to let Chantalene learn the truth. With the help of Drew Sanders, the son of another longtime local, Chantalene tries to untangle the present, hoping that it will bring her closer to what happened - and still haunts her - from her past.

Perhaps She'll Die is a very engrossing book from the setting to the characters to the mystery. M.K. Preston has meticulously created a rural Oklahoma setting and populated it with characters that are very easy to visualize and easy to suspect. Chantalene is a tough young woman, partly due to circumstances, who is not afraid of the consequences she faces as long as the truth is revealed. While she had a difficult adolescence, she has grown into a young woman who people seem willing to separate from her parents and their mistakes.

The plot quickly draws the reader in and moves at a very rapid pace as Chantalene's past and present collide with very real consequences. While there are clues as to what really occurred twelve years ago, they are not so obvious to ruin the conclusion of the book. M.K. Preston's first mystery is an absorbing story with a strong heroine and a very strong sense of place that will appeal to a broad audience.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry