Book excerpt: A young female detective proves herself up to the challenge of confronting a dynasty of evil in her hometown in this gritty Southern detective novel.Georgia state police investigator Fate Harper is used to struggling with the conflicts and barriers of being a female officer in the '70s. Caught between her professional obligations and personal passions on and off the job, Fate must constantly navigate an unlevel playing field.But when she forms a team to investigate the corrupt sheriff in a small town, the detective uncovers organized crime led by a syndicate of powerful men in a deeply rooted system of drug smuggling and murder. Now, Fate finds herself on a journey of cat and mouse, good and evil, and greed and corruption, and she must bring down the sinister operations or lose her life while trying.Returning home brings plenty of drama and romance in the Deep South in this debut novel from former Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent John B. Edwards.