cover image FIVE O'CLOCK SHADOW

FIVE O'CLOCK SHADOW

Susan Slater, . . Poisoned Pen, $24.95 (265pp) ISBN 978-1-59058-104-9

The plot of Slater's gripping follow-up to last year's Flash Flood moves as fast and as unpredictably as the New Mexico weather, which can go from sun to blizzard in a moment. Newlywed Pauly Caton watches in horror as the hot air balloon holding her husband, Randy McIntyre, crashes into a sand bar in the middle of the Rio Grande. A small, otherwise naked boy wearing Randy's jean jacket flees the gondola, leaving behind two dead men—Randy with a broken neck, the pilot with a bullet through his forehead. When the medical examiner discovers that Randy had had an irreversible vasectomy, Pauly is shattered and confused. The children they both seemingly had looked forward to before their marriage were never a possibility. The more she learns of Randy's secret past, the more Pauly becomes suspicious of everyone around her, even her carnival-queen grandmother with whom she takes refuge in Albuquerque. With her blonde hair, heavy make-up, breast implants and growing list of ex-husbands, Grams stands out in an unusual supporting cast that includes tattooed men and lethal snakes. From the book's devastating opening to its chilling climax, readers will be captivated by Slater's fresh, gutsy heroine. (Feb. 6)

FYI: Slater is also the author of Thunderbird (2002) and other titles in her Bill Pecos mystery series.