Burnt Ends

Murder is juicier with a side of barbecue sauce.

Private Investigator Tori Swenson gets a strange accidental death case that looks like murder at one of her uncle’s drive-ins and decides it’s time to get revenge on her estranged family. Pretending to want a reunion, she appears at her uncle’s party to secretly investigate them. When her uncle suddenly dies, Tori’s case takes a sinister turn that makes her a suspect in her uncle’s death and the killer’s next target. To uncover who dethroned the barbecue king, Tori will have to face her own fiery demons while pursuing a killer who wants to make dead meat out of her.

Burnt Ends (CamCat Books 2024) was inspired by Laura’s uncle who ran a successful burger drive-in chain in Ohio, as well as her experience living in Kansas City, Missouri. Laura has written other works including a fictitious memoir on Russian Literature, a Social Security thriller, and a young adult historical. She is currently working on a Georgetown whodunnit and also enjoys writing children’s poetry.

Laura has a Bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison in Russian and English Literature and a Master’s degree in Russian Literature from Northwestern University. She is the Senior Editor at the Department of Energy’s Office of the Inspector General and lives in Washington, D.C.