The Stories You Tell: A Roxane Weary Mystery

At the start of Lepionka’s entertaining third mystery featuring Columbus, Ohio, PI Roxane Weary (after 2018’s What You Want to See), Roxane gets a late-night call from her brother, Andrew, asking for help. A short time before, Addison Stowe, a DJ working at Nightshade, a nearby nightclub, appeared at his door in great distress, begging to use his phone. After making the call, Addison rushed out, despite Andrew’s efforts to detain her. When Roxane tries to find Addison, she discovers that she hasn’t returned home, Nightshade is completely deserted, and that a few days earlier a policeman visited Addison’s apartment asking for her. Roxane’s search for Addison becomes personal after the police learn that Andrew was the last person to see her before she went missing; they arrest Andrew for drug possession, a pretext to detain him while they investigate Addison’s disappearance. A cop’s murder and troubles in Roxane’s long-term relationship heighten the drama. Fans of plucky female detectives will look forward to Roxane’s further adventures. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (July)