Elba, North Carolina - May 1994; August 1998

On a beautiful day in May, all was right in the lives of Michael and Kathryn McAllister. After four years of struggling, Michael’s future as an architect was brilliantly bright. But he never got to tell Kathryn his fantastic news about a plum assignment. Kathryn came home from her daily run and found his body…with her wallpapering shears in his chest…and no one believed that she was innocent. Among other insults, she is hurtfully dubbed Black Widow and convicted of murder.

After four years in the Carolina Women’s Penitentiary in Wilmington, North Carolina, Kathryn is free because of new evidence, and her lawyer, Raelynn Wilbur. Raelynn comes to take her home even though she thinks that Kathryn has rocks in her head to go back to Elba. No one there wants her back, but Kathryn is determined to find out who killed Michael. Raelynn loans her a house, and Kathryn knows exactly where to start her search. Her first stop is at the police station to talk to Nick Di Salvo, the new Chief of Police. He, too, thinks that she has rocks in her head.

Before she barely has time to breathe, incidents -- a narrow miss from a car trying to run her down, her house ransacked, and a rattlesnake in a box on her porch -- threaten Kathryn. But Kathryn digs in her heels. Nothing and no one is going to run her off. It is not long until Nick believes without a doubt that she is innocent and sets out to help her. But what neither she nor Nick can ignore is their highly combustive attraction for each other.

BLACK WIDOW is a study in determination and courage. Elba has many secrets, and Nick and Kathryn uncover enough to blow apart the ‘genteel’ society of the Southern town. When the final betrayal comes from a most unexpected source, Kathryn may not survive. Nick’s daughter, Janine; Officer Bucky Stimpson; former police chief Shep Henley; Special Agent Richard Melcher; Wanita Crumley; Kevin and Neely McAllister; Rowena and others help and hinder Nick and Kathryn in their struggle to ferret out the truth. Laurie Breton has a winner. She has captured the flavor and feel of a small Southern town quite well and doesn’t stint with background, mores, shady pasts and remarkable characters. I very much recommend BLACK WIDOW.

Vi Janaway