Sal, a recently divorced and temporarily suspended lawyer relocates to the small town of Simpato in Northern California to her parents' old home, vacant since their deaths. Looking for privacy, a reprieve from her life, and a fresh start, instead she's quickly immersed into the small-town gossip mill of characters who all know more about her than she does of them. When a murder happens minutes from the spot where she is hiking, Sal finds herself dangerously plunged into the epicenter of the town's long-held hometown secrets.

Wine, gossip, intrigue, and cannabis-cookie-selling-nuns thrive in abundance in Simpato, California, along with plenty of awful duck puns! All Sal has to do is survive.

About the Author: Claudia H. Long is the author of seven novels, including the deeply emotional mystery series featuring Zara and Lilly: Nine Tenths of the Law and Our Lying Kin. Her books span centuries and topics, including the poetry of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (Josefina's Sin), the Hidden Jews of Mexico during the Inquisition (The Duel for Consuelo), women in the mining industry in 1753 (Chains of Silver), women in the labor movement in 1920s San Francisco (The Harlot's Pen), and the legacy of inherited trauma as a daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Her humorous mysteries are “sisters-books, family scandals with a mystery flowing through them.”

Editorial Reviews

“A good old-fashioned mystery with just the right amount of wit, humor and long-held secrets. I loved it !” —Denise Allan Steele, author of Rewind

“For a small town, Simpato has some giant secrets. And it's all duck or no dinner for Sal DeVine if she can't discover the secrets that got her mother killed. A tongue-in-cheek murder mystery with a hilariously irreverent cast of characters.” —Kelly Oliver, author of TheJessica James Mysteries