Destroying Angels: A Leigh Girard Mystery

Determined to make a fresh start after beating cancer, Chicagoan Leigh Girard leaves a failed marriage and a teaching career and moves to Egg Harbor, Wisconsin. Her first assignment as a writer for the local newspaper is an obituary feature on Carl Peck, a carpenter who died suddenly while hospitalized. His widow is claiming medical negligence. But as Leigh looks into the story, she finds something far worse: possible murder. Leigh's suspicions are confirmed when it's discovered that Peck, an amateur naturalist, died from mushroom poisoning. The case turns even more puzzling when the Pecks' daughter attempts to take her own life shortly after her good friend, the local librarian, kills herself. In the process of solving Peck's murder, Leigh uncovers another murder committed twenty years earlier that links the past with the present. As she probes the heart of of a tragic mystery, Leigh learns the survival instincts that have carried her this far are about to be tested against a clever killer.

Gail Lukasik was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a ballerina with the Cleveland Civic Ballet Company. She began her writing career as a poet. Her most recent book of poems is: Homeless, In My Own Words: True Stories of Homeless Mothers. Her first mystery novel, Destroying Angels, was written as a result of her son’s suggestion: ＂You’re always reading mysteries, why don’t you try writing one.＂ Kirkus Reviews described her second Leigh Girard mystery, Death’s Door, as ＂fast-paced and literate, with a strong protagonist and a puzzle that keeps you guessing.＂ Peak Season for Murder, her third Leigh Girard mystery, was awarded a Lovey Award for Best Traditional Amateur Sleuth. After her appearance on PBS’s Genealogy Roadshow where her mother’s life changing secret was revealed, she was inspired to write White Like Her: My Family’s Story of Race and Racial Passing. ＂I’m a mystery author who was never able to solve my own family’s mystery,＂ Lukasik said. She was certified as a canoe instructor and has led canoeing trips on the Des Plaines River. When her nose isn’t buried in a book, she likes to hike the beautiful forest preserves near her house.