Part of Series
Battered physically and psychologically in the wake of a horrific car accident, Erika Wernick takes a leave from her post as a reporter at the Seattle Times to return home to Big Bear Lake to recover. Intent on nothing more than holing up in the mountains to let herself mend, she is begrudgingly pulled along by her uncle to join him and his friends for their morning coffee at the local shop. Thinking it is nothing more than a few recent retirees in need of filling the time, it isn’t until she arrives that she discovers the gathering is of a much different nature. Joining her uncle, the former town sheriff, is Craig Cobb, a past detective with LAPD, and Lou Tobias, a medical examiner from nearby Riverside. Together, the three men form the Hobby Lobby, a term of affection given to the group that meets each morning to help each other through the various hobby cases each picked up over the course of their careers. Initially seeing the men as nothing more than a curiosity, it isn’t until Erika learns of the tragic death of a former classmate that she begins to put stock into what they do. Seeing a lot of herself in the girl she hasn’t spoken to in years, she begins to prod at the supposed suicide, looking past the macabre surface at the details surrounding the incident. Details that hint of far greater influences beginning to circle the idyllic mountain town than any of them could have ever imagined…
Author
I originally hail from the midwest, growing up in the heart of farm country, and still consider it, along with West Tennessee, my co-home. Between the two, I have a firm belief that football is the greatest of all past-times, sweet tea is really the only acceptable beverage for any occasion, there is not an event on earth that either gym shorts or boots can't be worn to, and that Dairy Queen is the best restaurant on the planet. Further, southern accents are a highly likeable feature on most everybody, English bulldogs sit atop the critter hierarchy, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with a Saturday night spent catfishing at the lake. Since leaving the midwest I've been to college in New England, grad school in the Rockies, and lived in over a dozen different cities ranging from DC to Honolulu along the way. Each and every one of these experiences has shaped who I am at this point, a fact I hope is expressed in my writing. I have developed enormous affinity for locales and people of every size and shape, and even if I never figure out a way to properly convey them on paper, I am very much grateful for their presence in my life. To sum it up, I asked a very good friend recently how they would describe me for something like this. Their response: "Plagued by realism and trained by experiences/education to be a pessimist, you somehow remain above all else an active dreamer." While I can't say those are the exact words I would choose, I can't say they're wrong. I travel, live in different places, try new foods, meet all kinds of different people, and above all else stay curious to a fault. Here's hoping it continues to provide us all with some pretty good stories...
