Julie Mornelli

Thirty years ago on Christmas Eve, a family of four vanished into the night, without a trace, on their way to their home in a small village near Cognac, France.

Now, a young American woman wants to find out what happened to them. What are her motives? What is her relationship to the family? Why is the fate of a family from a foreign country so important to her? These are the questions young would-be private detective Beamer Swift will try to answer. His quest will take him from New York to France and other places, on the trail of people who may not be who they appear to be. All along, the young man is assisted from a distance by his French guide Charlotte and his employer Emily Bloodrun, a seasoned and quirky detective with a taste for literary and cinematic references, and a keen analytic mind that complements – and sometimes, counters — her training recruit who’s prompt to rush into things, sometimes with a disastrous result.

Endearing characters, oddball thinkers and a fast-paced intrigue take the reader on a trip to France, Panama and a few other places in a quest for the truth, with twists and turns, and an unexpected ending. As the investigation progresses, both Emily’s and Beamer’s strengths and weaknesses come to light, laying the grounds for their future collaboration, in the next installment of the Debunkers Files Series.