A Perfect Victim: A Claire Marshall Novel

A young widow’s efforts to rebuild her life become a struggle for survival when she crosses a killer...Claire Marshall’s world crumbled when her husband died in a fire. Emotionally fragile but determined to move forward, Claire buys into a small company that restores historic houses in New Orleans. When a wealthy widower named Frank Palmer, is found dead in a burned building, he police suspect her of arson or murder, maybe both. Frank spent his last days telling the world they were in love and planning to marry, now he’s dead, and she can’t prove their relationship was purely business.Claire’s quest to prove her innocence before the police ＂prove＂ her guilt becomes an investigation into Frank’s life. Why did he lie about their relationship? Why would someone want to kill him? Finding the answers brings her face to face with the real killer -- and with her own worst fears. A Perfect Victim is the first book in a trilogy set in pre-Katrina New Orleans. Each book stands alone as a mystery story; together they trace Claire’s journey through grief to happiness.

As a child, Patricia Dusenbury read under the covers when her parents thought she was asleep. (She still reads into the wee hours but now uses a Kindle.) Despite sleep deprivation, she managed to get through college and a career as an economic analyst/strategic planner. Now retired, she hopes to atone for all those dry reports by writing stories that people read for pleasure. Her first book, A Perfect Victim, won the 2015 EPIC (Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition) award for best mystery. The sequel, Secrets, Lies & Homicide, was an EPIC finalist and a top ten finisher in the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll. A House of Her Own, the third and final Claire Marshall novel, was nominated for a Rhone Award. Her current work in progress, the first of a new series, is a Claymore Award top ten finalist. Patricia lives on a very steep street in San Francisco. When she isn’t reading or writing, she’s hanging out with the grandkids or exploring the fabulous city that is her new home. You can learn more about Patricia and her writing on her web page, PatriciaDusenbury.com