Part of Series
Dead birds raining from the sky. Poison in the water supply. Spies on the back porch. A lifeless crow shatters the windshield as Rita Avery, her daughter-in-law, and her granddaughter arrive at Arizona’s Rim Vista Park. Rita dodges bird carcasses on the road home, where she finds her husband Cliff and son Travis gravely ill from a mysterious pathogen with no cure. The CDC assembles a team to create a cure, but Rita doubts it will arrive in time to rescue Cliff, Travis, and dozens of her friends and neighbors. In a race to save her family, her community, and potentially thousands more Americans, Rita launches her own investigation. She partners with a certified herbalist and a homeless war veteran dubbed Crazy Mary. But the more clues Rita uncovers, the deeper she finds herself in the middle of a ruthless plot that could unleash a wide-ranging American disaster. And the culprits aim to stop her at any cost. Before it’s too late for her loved ones, Rita must thwart the next attack on innocent civilians. Murder, spine-tingling trips through Arizona’s rugged wilderness, and callous spies determined to spread havoc – this isn’t your average family outing!
Author
A native of the southwestern U.S., Karen Randau pens the Rim Country Mysteries. The fourth book in the series, Deadly Payload, was a finalist in the Book Excellence Awards and the Beverly Hills Book Awards. Karen has been writing and telling stories since elementary school. She holds a degree in journalism/public relations from The University of Texas at Austin and enjoyed a long career in marketing communications. In her work with an international non-profit, she traveled to numerous developing countries, witnessing famines, violence, and hopeful people working to overcome abject poverty. She loves fast-paced mysteries and thrillers, especially those with intricate plots, lots of action, and rollercoaster-like twists and turns.
