Part of Series
NO ONE IS AS THEY SEEM ... While the villain Frank Pagliacci has been defeated, all is not well in Bridges. The Four Families accuse each other of spying while Red Dog attacks escalate. Aristocratic jewel merchant Dame Anastasia Louis, styling herself "The Queen of Diamonds," hires her long-time friend, private eye Jacqueline Spadros, to collect from her debtors so she can leave the city. But Jacqui can't leave David Bryce's kidnapping and the murders of her teenage informants unpunished. Convinced that her mortal enemy, the madman "Black Jack" Diamond, was complicit in the crimes, she pursues ways to prove it. The scoundrel and his crew, however, seem to be one step ahead: the terrifying man in white is seen outside David's home, forged letters are appearing across the city, and merchants in the Spadros quadrant report threats from a man who fits his description. Jacqui is warned of a plot against her life. Those who try to warn Jacqui are murdered, and evidence emerges that Jacqui's mother is next on the list. With time running out, Jacqui is forced to make a horrifying choice. Someone will surely die. Will it be Jacqui, or her mother?
Author
Patricia Loofbourrow was born in southern California and currently lives in Oklahoma. Learning to read at the age of three, she grew up on Heinlein, Bradbury, and Asimov, and found at an early age that she loved science. Earning a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry from Cal Poly Pomona then an MD from Rush University, Dr. Loofbourrow practiced family medicine for ten years before becoming a stay at home mom in 2000. After leaving medicine, Patricia Loofbourrow ran one of the first “ask a doctor” patient education websites from 2000-2004. Patty wrote her first novel during the 2005 National Novel Writing Month, going on to write eight novels, four novellas, and well over 100 short stories, mostly speculative fiction, before choosing to self-publish. She has been a long-time member of the Forward Motion Forums, and was the founder of Fifty Word Fiction on DeviantArt. She has also worked as a freelance non-fiction writer and editor since 2000, and currently runs an informational website on edible landscaping.
