SLAYINGS IN SLEAUFORT

Slayings in Sleaufort is the fourth book in the Bixie Lee Biddle series. It is a prequel and the story tells of the first adventures that Bixie has when she moves to Sleaufort.

Slayings in Sleaufort tells the story of how Bixie moved to Sleaufort. It relates her first encounter with the Thomas family- the family that has created so many problems that are related in the other three books in the Sleaufort series.

In Slayings in Sleaufort, Bixie decides to escape the humdrum life of Rustin and relocates to Sleaufort, with its beaches and lay-back attitude. There is a great job waiting for her at the Sleaufort county courthouse (thanks to her brother) and a wonderful mortgage-free house beside the Swansea Inlet (thanks to her dead aunt). 

Reality bites her quickly. The job at the courthouse materializes as bottom-level custodian; the house comes with her aunt' ashes and caveats that she must adhere to. Then there are the two murders at the courthouse in her first week of work (speaking of messes).

Bixie is in the middle of all the drama. Her boss hates her; her co-workers conspire against her, as she begins to unravel the mystery surrounding the murders. Underneath the tranquility of the beach town, Sleaufort, lays a web of nastiness that includes blackmail, drugs, and perversion. 

Someone is watching her as she gets closer to finding answers. They have killed before, many times, to protect their secrets and killing Bixie will be a pleasure, almost sexual in nature.

Bixie deals with the drama in her own unique ways of confrontation and humor. She's not one to back down from a fight, and when she can agitate a person to gain more information, she is so doing it. She muddles along uncovering clues, getting ever nearer to the person who is at the bottom of all the evil in the town. Along the way, she exposes the teacher who sells drugs to school children; the preacher who loves the sins he preaches against, the devoted father who loves his children a little too well.

The good news is that in the final show-down, Bixie with the help of her friends triumphs. Sleaufort now has its own special version of heroine, ready to fight the next manifestation of Thomas family evil.