Presumption of Death
by Perri O'Shaughnessy

• The Gambia National Library, Banjul, The Gambia

After a tumultuous year, attorney Nina Reilly heads home to put her life in order and move in with her long-time, part-time love, Paul van Wagoner. Carmel Valley, however, is not quite the sleepy town Nina remembers.
In a place where the locals clash with the rich newcomers, conflicts have always been an inevitable part of life, but lately, the hostilities have turned ugly: someone has been setting seemingly random forest fires. Just as Nina is re-establishing her family ties and beginning her new life with Paul, she is called upon again. The last fire proved fatal, and Wish, the son of her faithful ex-assistant, Sandy Whitefeather, stands accused of murder. Nina is certain that the fires are not random at all. Against her better judgement, she must work with Paul in order to gain the locals' trust in a race against time to find the truth before the real killer's motives become all too shockingly apparent.

Perri O'Shaughnessy is the pen name for two sisters, Pamela and Mary O'Shaughnessy, who live in Hawai'i and Carifornia, respectively. Together they have written three previous novels, Move to Strike, Writ of Execution and Unfit to Practice. Readers can visit the website at www.perrio.com