Best Be Prepared

Gwen Florio

Gwen Florio

A tense small town mystery that packs a big punch starring Nora Best.Nora Best is enjoying the quiet life . . . finally. She's parked up the Airstream on a quiet stretch of beach a... show more ▼nd is now a seventh-grade teacher in a small peninsula town in the Pacific Northwest. Her biggest worry is keeping up with her quick-witted bunch of students. No drama. No danger. And most importantly – no one turning up dead.Until they do, that is . . . When a local environmental activist – and dad to one of her most troublesome students – is killed, Nora once again finds herself in the thick of an investigation that threatens her new-found peace. She soon uncovers that Ward's death is most likely linked to the building of the school's emergency tsunami tower – a project financed by Ward's ex-wife's new husband . . . and one that is testing the town's loyalty.With emotions, and gossip, running high, in a community where...

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• 512

• Published: 2023

The Truth of it All

Gwen Florio

Gwen Florio

A hot-button legal case fuels a community's smoldering hostility—but the dark secret at its heart could set the town ablaze. Public defender Julia Geary moves through life in simme... show more ▼ring resentment—at her husband, a soldier killed in Iraq, leaving her a single mother; at her low-paying job; and at her overbearing mother-in law, whose home she shares. She longs for a breakout case, and it arrives when members of the high school soccer team report seeing a teammate—Iraqi refugee Sami Mohammed—assaulting a girl in the locker room.In a town where animosity against refugees has already reached a fever pitch, Julia throws all her energy into Sami's defense. She finds an ally in high school principal Dom Parrish, who believes Sami is innocent, and the case suddenly turns red hot.Then she begins receiving vicious threats against her family, and a senseless act of violence leaves Sami in a coma. And finally, a crop of new evidence emerges that points to the town's...

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• 325

• Published: 2021

Best Laid Plans

Gwen Florio

Gwen Florio

In the first of a new mystery series, we meet Nora Best as she flees her old life, cheating husband and all, and takes to the road with an Airstream trailer. Nora Best is the envy ... show more ▼of her friends. She's just turned fifty and has traded in her home with The Perfect-Ass Husband for an Airstream trailer and an adventure of a lifetime across the US. But during their leaving party, Nora finds her husband in a compromising position with a friend. Storming out of the party she jumps into her truck with no idea how to tow the Airstream or where she's going. Nora ends up in a campground in the mountains of Wyoming, drowning her sorrows with its managers, Brad and Miranda. When she is woken by a frantic Miranda after Brad has disappeared and bloodstains have been found around the campsite, Nora finds herself caught up in an adventure she could never have expected . . . facing a charge of murder.

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• 185

• Published: 2020

The Least Among Us

Gwen Florio

Gwen Florio

Searing social commentary meets chilling suspense as public defender Julia Geary takes a case destined to rock her small town to the core, for fans of John Lescroart.Public defende... show more ▼r Julia Geary’s star is rising, and now she’s got her first murder case defending local denizen Ray Belmar in the death of a homeless man. But Julia’s professional and personal challenges are mounting. First, she’s assigned an intern whose arrogance is insufferable. Then, her widowed mother-in-law, whose home Julia and her son Calvin share, announces her plans to re-marry, meaning they’ll have to find a new place to live. And to top things off, Julia’s boss removes her from the case, saying that she’s lost perspective, replacing her with an attorney who advises Ray to plead guilty. Julia can’t shake the suspicion that the murder, and the subsequent killing of a homeless woman, is linked to the death of a state legislator who had been...

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• 152

• Published: 2022

Best Kept Secrets

Gwen Florio

Gwen Florio

Nora heads home to Chateau in search of a fresh start, but her arrival comes at a time of social unrest that threatens to uncover long-hidden secrets. Nora Best is done running. Sh... show more ▼e's heading to her hometown of Chateau, to the grand Quail House, to stay with her mother and claim the great American privilege of starting over. But she might find it is hard to start over when the past is catching up . . . The night Nora arrives in Chateau, a white police officer shoots and kills Robert Evans, a young black man. The officer in question is Nora's school sweetheart, Alden Tydings. What really happened that night? Did Alden act in self-defense as he claims? Robert is the nephew of Bobby Evans, a man whose murder during the race protests of 1967 was never solved. Bobby and his sister, Grace, used to work at Quail House before Nora was born and, as tensions in Chateau rise, Nora begins to uncover secrets within her family home that could upend the lives of everyone in town . . .

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• 123

• Published: 2021

Reservations

Gwen Florio

Gwen Florio

Journalist Lola Wicks would much rather pursue a story than spend time with people she barely knows. So when an eco-terrorist bombing escalates the controversy surrounding a new co... show more ▼al mine on Arizona’s Navajo Reservation, she’s almost relieved to have the distraction from meeting her in-laws. But as the violence gets worse and Lola digs deeper, she can’t escape the feeling that her husband’s family is somehow involved—a suspicion that jeopardizes not only her marriage, but also her life.  Praised by the New York Times as “a gutsy series,” the Lola Wicks mysteries captivate readers with compelling characters, gritty tension, and page-turning action that builds to a thrilling finish.

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• 53

• Published: 2017

Dakota

Gwen Florio

Gwen Florio

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• 29

• Published: 2014

Montana

Gwen Florio

Gwen Florio

Returning from assignment in Afghanistan, foreign correspondent Lola Wicks is looking forward to a restful reentry at a friend’s Montana cabin. Instead, she’s greeted by her former... show more ▼ colleague’s corpse. Lola learns that Mary Alice had been writing for the local paper, digging into the past of Native American gubernatorial candidate Johnny Running Wolf. Lola doesn’t trust that the local sheriff has the skills to find Mary Alice’s killer, so she extends her stay and uses her investigative expertise to reconstruct Mary Alice’s last days. She learns that there’s a lot more than meets the eye going on in Magpie, Montana. Beyond the unemployment and the anti-meth billboards, there’s big money to be made in the mountains—enough to kill forFrom BooklistReturning from assignment in Afghanistan, foreign correspondent Lola Wicks is looking forward to a restful reentry at a friend’s Montana cabin. Instead, she’s greeted by her former colleague’s corpse. Lola learns that Mary Alice had been writing for the local paper, digging into the past of Native American gubernatorial candidate Johnny Running Wolf. Lola doesn’t trust that the local sheriff has the skills to find Mary Alice’s killer, so she extends her stay and uses her investigative expertise to reconstruct Mary Alice’s last days. She learns that there’s a lot more than meets the eye going on in Magpie, Montana. Beyond the unemployment and the anti-meth billboards, there’s big money to be made in the mountains—enough to kill for. The sparsely populated Big Sky setting will be one of the major sources of appeal for readers of this gripping debut mystery. --Karen Keefe Review''Outstanding . . . Quirky and cantankerous, Lola is grudgingly willing to learn from experience. Believable action complements razor-sharp observations of people and scenery.'' --Publishers Weekly, starred review ''Crammed with atmosphere and intriguing characters . . . Florio dips into her own background to make the protagonist competent and believable . . . The author does a great job of writing a book that's both evocative of the Montana countryside and a satisfying, hair-raising ride. A promising debut.'' --Kirkus Reviews ''In Gwen Florio's entertaining debut, war correspondent Lola Wicks finds the greatest threat to her safety is not dodging bullets in Afghanistan but discovering who killed her friend and fellow correspondent in Magpie, Montana. Florio knows her territory. She gives us wind on the high plains and the soft and velvety nose of a horse hungry for sugar. There's fire in the hills, trouble in the governor's race, and a county awash in drugs. Magpie's the old West with daunting new problems, and the scrappy Lola Wicks takes them on.'' --Leonard Rosen, author of All Cry Chaos ''Lola is a layered and complex character -- smart, resourceful, and driven, a woman coming to a deeper understanding of how war and ambition have both damaged her and made her stronge . . . With a deft hand and rich, evocative descriptions of the Montana landscape, Florio weaves an intricate mystery with subtlety and finesse.'' --Jaden Terrell, author of Racing the Devil ''Drawing on her experiences covering everything from the killing fields of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia to home-grown American evil, Gwen Florio concocts a riveting tale of murder, hard times in a hard place, and the value of human bonds.'' --Howard Owen, author of Oregon Hill ''In her first novel, Gwen Florio demonstrates she's a good storyteller, but it's the irreverent, often cantankerous, indomitable protagonist Lola Wicks who will keep the reader turning pages to reach the exciting conclusion.'' --Connie Dial, author of Dead Wrong

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• 25

• Published: 2013

Silent Hearts

Gwen Florio

Gwen Florio

"A rich, haunting, immersive story of cultures at the crossroads—deeply moving. A heart-smashingly good read, the kind of novel you'll want to share with your book club." —Jamie Fo... show more ▼rd, New York Times bestselling author of Love and Other Consolation Prizes and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet "Highly recommended, especially for fans of Khaled Hosseini." —Library Journal, starred review For fans of A Thousand Splendid Suns comes a stirring novel set in Afghanistan​ about two women—an American aid worker and her local interpreter—who form an unexpected friendship despite their utterly different life experiences and the ever-increasing violence that surrounds them in Kabul. ​In 2001, Kabul is suddenly a place of possibility as people fling off years of repressive Taliban rule. This hopeful chaos brings together American aid worker Liv Stoellner and Farida Basra, an...

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• 18

• Published: 2006

Disgraced

Gwen Florio

Gwen Florio

When former foreign correspondent Lola Wicks heads to Wyoming for a Yellowstone vacation, she comes across a story that hits close to her past. One Wyoming soldier returning from A... show more ▼fghanistan commits suicide, two others spark a near-fatal brawl, and a woman is terrorized. Lola, accompanied by her young daughter, senses a story about whatever happened on the far side of the world that these troops have brought so disastrously home. But she soon realizes that getting the story must take second place to getting herself—and her little girl—out of Wyoming alive. Kirkus Reviews praises Florio's previous novels as "crammed with atmosphere and intriguing characters . . . The writing is top-notch, and the action builds at just the right pace."

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• 15

• Published: 2016