Murder Without a Duck

A recently divorced and temporarily suspended lawyer relocates to the small town of Simpato in Northern California to her parents’ old home, vacant since their deaths.

She’s looking for a reprieve from her life and a fresh start, but immediately she is plunged into the small-town gossip mill of characters who all know more about her than she does of them. When a murder happens minutes from the spot where she is taking a hike, she finds herself dangerously at the epicenter of the town’s long held hometown secrets and, if she survives it, she may even discover an explanation for the mysterious deaths of her parents long ago.

About the Author

Claudia Hagadus Long is the author of seven novels, including the deeply emotional mystery series featuring Zara and Lilly: Nine Tenths of the Law and Our Lying Kin. Her books span centuries and topics, including the poetry of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (Josefina's Sin), the Hidden Jews of Mexico during the Inquisition (The Duel for Consuelo), women in the mining industry in 1753 (Chains of Silver), women in the labor movement in 1920s San Francisco (The Harlot's Pen), and the legacy of inherited trauma as a daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Her humorous mysteries are “sisters-books, family scandals with a mystery flowing through them.”