Series keeps getting better. ( )

I love mysteries with flawed protagonists. Roxane Weary, in her fourth book in the series, is a good one. She’s tough and she knows how to solve crimes. When asked by a woman’s daughter to investigate the death of her mother because police see it as an accident, Roxanne follows a train from Toledo to Detroit to Windsor, Canada. The case though, is much easier to solve than her own personal problems. If you like Sara Paretsky, you’ll like this book. ( )

The fourth Roxane Weary mystery begins with Roxane meeting a woman at a Columbus Park. It was a brief meeting since Roxane was waiting for her brother and the woman and her dog seemed eager to hit the trail. That should have been that, but moments later she learns that the woman has fallen from the path and died. She ends up going to the hospital since she's got the dog and meeting the woman's daughter.

After getting things squared away with the dog, Roxane goes on with her life. She isn't expecting the woman's daughter to stop in a couple of weeks later to let her know the woman died and that Maggie, the daughter, wants Roxane to look into things since Maggie finds the death suspicious.

Roxane begins to look into things and is immediately dropped into a complex situation with ties to a secretive church, a couple of the victim's ex-husbands, and a charismatic female politician who views don't align with the church.

The more Roxane looks, the more questions she has and the more bodies pile up or the more people go missing. And her case gives her the perfect excuse for putting off any emotional encounters with the guy she is seeing. Emotional encounters are always to be avoided in Roxane's world since she had way too many with her father before his death. A half-sister she didn't know she had is just one more bomb from her father and is complicated by the fact that both her brothers knew about it but hadn't told her.

This was an entertaining mystery with an intriguing main character. I liked reading about Roxane but could easily understand how so many of the people in her life found her difficult. ( )

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Roxane comes across a woman who has apparently fallen by accident while hiking. Her daughter asks Roxane to look into whether it really was an accident. Her investigation involves a casino in Canada, a fundamentalist church, a candidate for public office, both her brothers, and the long-suffering Tom.

This was a gripping story, with an excellent ending. There was one point towards the end where Roxane made a bit of a leap which I don't think was sufficiently set-up for the reader, but other than that the plot was very good. I liked the parts where Roxane interacted with her brothers, and I'm glad we have seen the back of Catherine.

Highly recommended. ( )