Mary Wickizer Burgess – författare

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!

A young Bay Area woman, Sonia Mattingly, goes missing while taking a summer jaunt in an old mining town in California''s scenic Sierra Mountains. Gail Brevard and her partners are called in to investigate the case and she decides she must go undercover in order to retrace Sonia’s steps and get to the truth of the matter.

Gail soon discovers that a demented mad man has been operating in the town at will, wreaking havoc and heartbreak with each evil act of betrayal. A deadly arson fire followed by an unexplained explosion at an old mine threaten not only the community, but Gail''s very life as well.

Can she and her colleagues put all the pieces of the puzzle together and bring the villain to justice before he strikes again?

The Contessa Lines cruise ship, the Nerissa, is the nexus for a disparate cast of nefarious factions. Two cunning and cold-blooded killers have smuggled themselves aboard, disguised as their murder victims, their motives unknown. And members of the Foundation, a mysterious cult, have infiltrated the passenger list, with their own sinister agenda to take over the ship. When they strike, they disrupt the on-board wedding ceremony of police officer David Spaulding and his fiancee Deborah Corliss.

Can the ship''s captain, aided by David and his new friend, author and anthropologist Richard Black Wolf, regain control of the Nerissa before it is too late? Or will this ship of fools meet disaster at the bottom of the ocean?

A car goes off the road in the midst of winter''s first snow storm. The lone survivor, Attorney Hal Watson, is left stranded off the grid and far from home. He has just witnessed the gruesome murder of his daughter, Marilyn, but will he be rescued in time to prevent a miscarriage of justice? The busy routine of Attorney Gail Brevard and her colleagues is disrupted when Marilyn''s fiance, Damon Powell, is accused of the crime. Gail had successfully defended Damon when he was charged in the unsolved death of young heiress, Vivian Seymour, five years earlier. Sentiment in the town of Cathcart runs deep against him, and even Gail''s closest allies have mixed emotions about the case. Is this a copy-cat killing? Or is a serial killer on the loose and poised to strike again?

Gail Brevard is faced with one of the most difficult decisions of her career when a key witness, Clinton Bolt, goes on the lam to Mexico. A seemingly unrelated arson death and an unexpected kidnapping are just a few of the issues Gail and her partner, Conrad Osterlitz, must unravel while preparing for a trial which could mean millions for their client and substantial fees for their firm.

A whirlwind trip to the fabled resort town of San Miguel de Allende and a mad dash back across the border keep Gail and her colleagues on their guard. Where will the unknown assailant strike next? Who will be the next victim? And what role does the mysterious black devil-car play in this macabre set of circumstances?

A thrilling legal mystery in the tradition of the Perry Mason series!