Over Her Head

When a 14-year-old girl dies in a mysterious drowning accident quickly ruled a homicide, the small town of Glendale and its tight-knit Christian community are thrown into chaos. Laurie Hale, the respected leader of the local women's Bible study group, is not only the woman who found the body but also the mother of Anna Hale-one of the prime suspects in the case. As the town rumor mill kicks into high gear, Laurie's confidence in her daughter's innocence begins to crumble. Waves of guilt threaten to take Laurie under, but ""She had to trust her daughter. She had to. Otherwise their family would splinter and fall apart."" As Laurie's worst fears about Anna seem to become a reality, the narrative begins to take on a soap opera feel, with Bates (A Sounding Brass) coming down heavy on the teen drama and corresponding parental angst. Though the setting, plot and characters may feel familiar to the mystery genre, readers will likely get swept up in Bates's story anyway, wanting to know just as badly as Laurie and company: who really killed Miranda Peizer?