mary wickizer burgess

Two new short novels featuring attorney Gail Brevard. In THE PURPLE GLOVE MURDERS, Gail and her companion and law partner, Conrad "Connie" Osterlitz, are relaxing at their Southern California mountain hideaway when Gail hears of a nearby tragedy. Retired Justice Winston Craig, a friend of Gail's late father, has been discovered face down near his dock on exclusive Black Bear Lake. The judge's widow, Eva, asks for their help in finding the cause of his death. As Gail begins to uncover the details of Craig's life, a familiar pattern begins to emerge. Convinced that the judge was murdered because of something he knew from one of his old cases, Gail suddenly finds herself at risk. Then Connie is attacked by an unknown assailant, and as he lies near death, Gail must use all her resources to solve the crime before it's too late. A DEATH AT CLIFFSIDE: Gail and Connie are enjoying a working vacation in San Francisco with their associate, Charles Walton, and Charles's cousin, Nick. Nick asks Gail to look into the recent death of his ex-girlfriend, Cele, whose body has just been found dead at the bottom of a cliff south of the city. The police think that she fell or leapt to her death, but Nick believes she was murdered. Gail and friends begin investigating, but soon encounter resistance, both from the woman's family and from the authorities. Why doesn't anyone want to talk about Cele's passing? And why has the woman's death apparently been covered up? Two great reads from a California native!