Presumption of Death This is the ninth Nina Reilly story by this writing duo, Pamela & Mary O’Shaughnessy. Unlike the other stories set in Lake Tahoe, this one is set in Carmel. Nina has moved to Carmel for the summer to see if she and her long time boyfriend, Paul von Wagoner, can really make it together. Her son is off in Sweden for the summer with his father. She has leased her Tahoe law office to another attorney for the term. Wish Whitefeather, the son of her former office assistant and summer assistant to Paul in his investigation business, has been arrested for several arsons in the area and the murder of his friend, Danny. They had gone up the mountain on a tip that the third arson fire was going to be set and were going to get photos of the arsonist and collect the reward money. Nina agrees to be Wish’s attorney, thinking it will be a slam-dunk to get him out of jail since he’s innocent. Things go from bad to worse quickly as more people are being murdered while Wish sits in jail. Danny had lived at his uncle’s home on a quiet street in a close-knit neighborhood of just six homes. Who’s the arsonist? Who’s paying the arsonist? Just how many in the neighborhood might be involved? And throw into the mix Nina’s son’s unexpected return from Sweden which, of course, upsets the applecart of domestic bliss Nina and Paul are hoping to establish. As usual, the writers have Nina get into almost impossible situations and come out smelling like a rose. The story moves along quickly, but I did figure out whodunit before it was revealed. If you’ve enjoyed previous stories by this author, you’ll like this one as well. |