Introducing LaVonne Griffin-Valade’s debut novel, and the first in the gripping Maggie Blackthorne series. Fans of Sheriff Walt Longmire will fall in love with Sergeant Maggie Blackthorne, the spirited protagonist with a tragic past and an acid wit. When Maggie Blackthorne returns to her hometown after nearly twenty years to serve as an Oregon State Police Sergeant, she expects to deal with the usual suspects—drunk drivers, oxy slingers, and the occasional rural scofflaw. But after she stumbles upon the bullet-ridden bodies of twin brothers, she realizes she’s stepped into something much more sinister. With little homicide experience, Maggie and her partner, Trooper Hollis Jones, find themselves thrust into a murder investigation. And when a third man turns up dead, the pair fears it’s only a matter of time before the killer strikes again. As they race to piece together what happened, Maggie and Hollis discover a tangled web of theft, deceit and deals gone bad. Faced with multiple motives and several persons of interest, Maggie and Hollis finally catch a break—but are they willing to risk everything to put the murderer behind bars?

Sergeant Maggie Blackthorne's latest case gets personal as she risks everything to prove her innocence and bring a killer to justice. The highly anticipated second novel in the compelling Maggie Blackthorne series. After an unexpected and unpleasant visit from her ex-husband, Oregon State Police Sergeant Maggie Blackthorne is called to a grisly crime scene. Her ex has been found dead—the victim of a vicious attack. Her earlier confrontation with the deceased places Maggie squarely on the list of suspects, and she is soon the subject of an internal investigation. Desperate to clear her name and uncover the truth, Maggie and her partner, Trooper Hollis Jones, have no time to waste. With a couple of townspeople acting suspiciously, reports of missing or stolen property, and evidence of drug deals gone bad, the case is proving to be a difficult one to crack. And just when Maggie and Hollis think they’ve finally caught a break, the lone eyewitness turns up dead. As the personal and professional pressure mounts, Maggie struggles to catch a remorseless killer who has nothing to lose. And one wrong move could cost Maggie her career... or her life. Murderers Creek is a can’t-miss read that will keep you captivated until the very last page.

When a small town in the Pacific Northwest is rocked by a shocking murder, Maggie Blackthorne hunts a killer still lurking in the surrounding forest. After a state trooper is killed under mysterious circumstances, Oregon State Police sergeant Maggie Blackthorne is assigned to the case. The investigation takes her to Desolation Ridge in the Umatilla National Forest, where the suspect is reported to be hiding out with a possible hostage. It’s late fall. Daylight is scarce, and there is a fierce chill in the air. To make matters worse, a deadly cougar has been spotted nearby. But as Maggie and her partner Hollis trudge on, uncovering clues and dealing with their own tense past, one thing is clear: Somewhere amongst these towering pines, a murderer is watching them.

When the murder of a beloved ranch owner shocks the entire county, Maggie Blackthorne must unmask a killer hiding in plain sight… Ranch owner Mike Drake is a fixture in Grant County, beloved and respected by friends and neighbors alike. So everyone is shocked when his prize bull is found mutilated on his property near Poison Spring, just outside the village of Kimberly. Police Sergeant Maggie Blackthorne and her partner Hollis Jones are called out to Poison Spring Ranch to investigate the slaughter—but they discover an even greater crime when they find Mike Drake himself, shot to death not far from his bull’s carcass. Residents throughout the county demand answers as Maggie and Hollis get to work on the case, but there are hardly any leads and too many contradictions. Almost everyone around had loved Mike Drake—but he seems to have been killed by a local with a grudge. Maggie and Hollis must watch their step as they dig up dark secrets about one of the county’s most upstanding residents. Particularly when their search takes them into the craggy, luminous fossil beds surrounding Poison Spring Ranch—it’s dangerous terrain to wander around in…and the perfect place for a killer to hide.