MAYBE IT WAS JUST
BEGINNER’S LUCK 

A BLOODIED BODY BURIED IN A SNOWBANK ON A REMOTE ISLAND OFF CAPE COD.

A COLD CASE IN KANSAS.

Against a canvas of crime and murder, artist and amateur detective Leila Goodfriend investigates two brutal murders that happened a thousand miles - and decades apart.

As she unravels the truth about these two violent killings, she tracks a trail of blood and revenge, littered with smoke screens and stone relics of a perilous past. From Cape Cod to a casino in Kansas, Leila has to trust her instincts. And her developing relationship with Detective John Grace is put to a new, dangerous test.

Despite the detective’s warnings, she puts her life at risk, obsessed with proving her friend’s innocence, at least of murder.

Leila exposes new suspects and clues, and in the end, reveals a dark, deadly secret from her own past.

Death In Smoke — the new psychological thriller from author Barbara Elle — takes readers on an inner and actual journey across clashing cultures and time, challenging assumptions about what is fact — what may remain a mystery. 

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