The Second Goodbye

*This is an advanced uncorrected copy of the book. Please bear in mind that existing errors will be corrected in the final book.*

Assume nothing—that's the touchstone for every homicide investigation Detective Davie Richards undertakes. She approaches her latest case the same way, determined to learn as much about the victim as she does about the killer. But there's nothing about thirty-four-year-old Sara Montaine or her death that makes sense.

Was Sara a saint caring for her dying husband or a gold-digger with a sketchy background? Did she commit suicide or was she murdered? Before her marriage, Sara lived comfortably without any obvious source of income, unusual for an orphan raised in foster care. As Davie digs deeper, she unearths Sara's troubled past and a viper's nest of villains who are willing to kill to keep their secrets hidden.

Praise:

“Sassy and analytical, L.A. Detective Davie Richards utilizes 'shoe leather and minutiae' to unravel a brilliantly staged fake suicide.  Seamless prose, tightly crafted clues, and surprising twists make The Second Goodbye a memorable police procedural. Brew the coffee for the graveyard shift, as you’ll be up all night reading."  —K.J. Howe, best-selling author of The Freedom Broker and Skyjack

 “Patricia Smiley tackles Michael Connelly territory and succeeds with a realistic, compelling police procedural in the badlands of contemporary Los Angeles. Detective Davie Richards is a smart, no-nonsense heroine, and the storytelling had me turning the pages at the expense of mundane activities like sleeping. The Second Goodbye is an intriguing mystery laced with well-researched law enforcement practices." —Raymond Benson, author of In the Hush of the Night and The Black Stiletto Serial

"The Second Goodbye is a straight ahead jolt of police procedural adrenaline! Like Michael Connelly, Patricia Smiley grabs a hold of you and pulls you into the story without tricks or gimmicks. Just a great story told by a great storyteller. The Second Goodbye catapults Smiley onto the top tier of crime writers!"— Matt Coyle, Anthony Award-winning author of the Rick Cahill crime series