Book excerpt: Semi-finalist in the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards The bullets changed everything for me. Sometimes I wished I’d taken a bullet too because I lost the most important men in my life. My dad still fought every day to reclaim his confidence, mobility, and wit from the bullet that creased his brain. But my husband of seventeen days took our dreams with him when he died. They never caught the shooter. After losing everything, Katie Wilk is starting life over in Columbia, Minnesota, with a new career—giving up cryptanalysis in favor of teaching school—and a canine companion, Maverick, a black Labrador retriever. But on one of their first outings, Katie and Maverick discover a dead body in a nearby marshland. Doctor Pete Erickson enters her life. As the county coroner, he’s one of the first on the scene; as the doctor that day in the ER, he’s the one who stitches up Katie’s head; as the son of the police chief, Pete is also in on the investigation. Meanwhile, the locals are gearing up for the premier of a new docudrama film called Titanic: One Story, which would be the cornerstone piece of a new Titanic exhibit, to open Labor Day weekend at the Midwest Minnesota History Center. The director selected their town as the location for some of the scenes, and many local residents are featured as extras in the movie. There will be a huge gala dinner and celebration for the grand opening. Tragedy strikes when the director dies suddenly, and there are a number of suspects. Katie finds herself in the midst of it all, and doesn’t know anyone in town well enough to know who she can trust. Praise for the Katie and Maverick Cozy Mysteries: “Immediately captivating! Katie and Maverick are destined to become a notable amateur sleuth team in the mystery world.” –Connie Shelton, USA Today bestselling author