Winter Tears: An Outsiders Mystery

Mystery in a French village . . . Gendarme captain Pascal Goddard looks forward to taking a break from work to focus his attention on his wife Chantal and the birth of their first child. Two weeks before their baby’s due date, a couple who recently moved into a troglo in the nearby village of Reynier, France, report their baby missing. When Chantal finds out, worried for the safety of their unborn baby and for the missing baby, she begs her husband to find the child. Hours later, the unexpected happens to Chantal.Torn between sitting at Chantal’s bedside and praying for a miracle or doing his job and fulfilling what may be her last wish, Goddard must decide soon; the missing baby, if abandoned out on the snowy hillside or left in Reynier’s labyrinthine cave system, won’t survive for long. He brings in the Gendarmerie’s canine unit and personally interviews the short list of suspects, including the baby’s parents and her five-year-old brother. With few leads, and severe weather threatening to impede the investigation, Goddard is anxious. And then, three more people-including the baby’s brother whom Goddard has become fond of-disappear. Now Goddard puts his own life in danger to find them all.Winter Tears is the third book in the Outsiders series. Praise for the first two books-＂Impeccable Characters. . . Susan Finlay’s sense of character development in IN THE SHADOWS is impeccable. I’m very fond of this author and this story.＂＂Atmospheric, great setting. . . the descriptive prose drew me right into a convincing story from the outset and I can only imagine that the author’s experience as a photographer, with a photographer’s eye, must be the other side of the coin to the compelling eye for setting.＂＂Simply put, ＂Where Secrets Reside＂ is one of the best mysteries I have read in a very long time. Set in the small, quiet village of Reynier, France, a young woman finds an abandoned toddler deep in the woods. Who is she, and where is the mother? From there, one after another, murders begin. Who is the guilty party? Is there one, or several? Are the deaths related in some way? Is Maurelle Martin involved? After all, she was once a suspect in a London murder. What about her husband? In less capable hands, a complicated plot like this one would quickly turn into a maze. In Susan Finlay’s very capable hands, it is a fascinating hunt. if love mysteries and you’re looking for a superb read, pick up a copy of ＂Where Secrets Reside＂, sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, and plunge in. I’m looking forward to Susan Finlay’s next mystery. She’s definitely got me hooked!＂