Publication Date: Mar 2026
Blurb:
1937. It’s been seven years since the dust storms started in Colorado. Folks can barely remember a time when the clouds were filled with rain instead of dirt, and when the fields were green instead of brown. High school student Martha Helen Kessler and her family are luckier than most; they still eke out a living from the land. Even so, evidence of the Dust Bowl’s grim impact on families, especially on the women who bear the brunt of their husbands’ frustration and their children’s hunger, is everywhere.
When Martha Helen’s compassionate mother insists they take in Otis Hobbs, a handsome drifter who saves a local boy from a vicious storm, she quickly discovers a darker side to their rural community. Suspicion, jealousy, and prejudice grip their neighbors–and emotions reach a frenzy after Martha Helen’s best friend, Frankie, disappears and is then found murdered. Ultimately, Martha Helen is forced to make sense of her conflicting feelings and loyalties in order to help find retribution and to reconcile the difference between the law and justice.
What To Expect:
Readers can expect a slow burn murder mystery set in the 1930s Dust Bowl, with strong female characters and a look into life at that time.
Content Warnings:
Language: Mild
Sexual Content: Mild/Closed Door – Flirting, talk of sex, but no sex scenes
Violence: Moderate – Domestic abuse (including child abuse), death, murder, fighting, bullying
Substance Use: Moderate – Alcoholic parents, tobacco use
Prejudices: There is prejudice and hatred for homeless and outsider individuals
Religious Themes: Many characters are Christian, and some pray and talk about the Bible. Most in a positive light, others negative
Other Topics: Death of loved ones, parental abandonment
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