Betsy Thornton

Mystery series debut: Newly arrived in Arizona, Kate finds her hideaway shattered by the murder of two tourists—and Kate fears she may be next.
 
Dudley, Arizona, is an isolated desert town that attracts people who need to escape: Kate Waters flees there following an abusive relationship and Phoenix cop Malcolm MacGregor comes to recover from the death of his wife. No one knows why Carrie and Wes Cooper arrived. But when they are shot dead, the police try to protect the tourist trade by making a quick arrest—without asking too many questions.
 
Having met Carrie briefly, Kate is still unsettled by the encounter—and convinced that the wrong man has been arrested for the crime. Was the shooting random, or is there something in the victims’ history back east that would explain it? When she teams up with Malcolm MacGregor, Kate uncovers disturbing links between her own past and Carrie’s. Is Kate herself at risk?
 
The first in the Kate Waters series* by the author of the Chloe Newcomb mysteries.*