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Early in Fitzgerald’s suspenseful thriller, amateur sleuth Inez Buchanan, who has retired after 40 years of teaching in the Denver public school system, is visited by Dolly David, the godmother of her former neighbor, Ted Wabely. Ted has referred Dolly to Inez because six months earlier Inez managed to expose “China’s attempt to outsource its espionage against the United States.” Dolly now hopes that Inez will help her find her missing granddaughter, Kadija Campbell, who she believes is in Afghanistan, married to a Taliban soldier. Inez agrees to reach out to a friend at the FBI who can help. Later, Dolly’s lawyer informs Inez that his client, who he believes fantasized her story about Kadija’s whereabouts, has killed herself and left Inez as the executor of her estate. Inez plunges into life-threatening situations as she commits herself to finding the truth about Kadija. While Inez is an unlikely action heroine, solid prose and an intriguing plot help the reader suspend disbelief. [em](BookLife) [/em]