MacLaren Yarbrough has her plate full—she’s the county magistrate, co-owner of the local plant nursery, and has a lively extended family. But amateur sleuthing may be her true calling...

Years ago, a dark cloud moved over the small town of Hopemore, Georgia, upon the murder of a little girl. As a result, one man was sent to prison for life—and two young boys were changed forever. Eventually, the skies cleared— and although the tragedy left its mark, the folks in Hopemore settled back into their routines. But that dark cloud seems to have returned with the suicide of one of the town’s most beloved citizens—a favorite chemistry teacher and dedicated softball coach at the high school…

MacLaren Yarbrough doesn’t doubt the reasons the police give for the suicide, but she thinks someone drove DeWayne to it, and in this cozy southern town, where “crime” usually involves nothing more than late library books, the darkness may be lurking in places where even sharp-eyed MacLaren would never think to look…

Southern Wisdom from MacLaren Yarbrough:
My mama used to say, “To keep the family peace, no woman worth her salt lets her menfolk know half of what she is doing or a quarter of what she can do.”