In THE ABNORMAL GUMSHOE, exuberant and empathetic author Tamar Anolic takes readers down a winding path of loss, suspicion and love as seen through the eyes of Chloe Weaver.

Chloe, who is nearly 30, surveys a religious service in the very strict church that has long dominated her activities and aspirations, as well as those of her 14 younger siblings. As the oldest, Chloe’s life largely entails helping her mother with household chores and child care. But she is beginning to wonder if this is all she can expect. One of her sisters, Mary, is engaged, making Chloe feel all the more isolated. While in church, she receives glances from Barnabas Anderson, a man she has always considered strange, with his mop of dark hair and “jerky mannerisms.”

"[Anolic's] skills as a wordsmith are many. She draws dynamic, credible portraits of all the participants in this compelling plot and exhibits arcane knowledge of the workings of police operatives..."

But Barnabas soon asks Chloe’s father’s permission to court her. And with that incursion into her life, things will change dramatically. When she and Mary fly to San Francisco for a church conference, her curiosity about the death of Barnabas’ wife, Clara, will evoke in Chloe a talent for the wide-ranging art of criminal investigation. She begins to delve deeply into the events leading to Clara’s demise. In doing so, she meets Detective Logan Cartwright, the officer on duty when Barnabas phoned the police to report that his wife had hung herself. Logan has long been disturbed about the designation of Clara’s death as a suicide.

Thus begins a relationship of trust, fact-finding and mutual respect, as those who meet them are convinced by her manner and knowledge of the case that Chloe is a police investigator. What they discover together, building step by difficult step, will create a bond that could evolve into a bloom someday. Chloe’s secret contemplation of her circumstances will be underpinned by events taking place with Mary and others in the family circle, pointing to the need for more liberal religious beliefs and a serious change of social and personal attitudes.

Tamar Anolic is an award-winning writer of books and articles for children and adults. The first book in this series, TWO SISTERS OF FAYETTEVILLE, garnered a Medallion from B.R.A.G. (Book Readers Appreciation Group). Her skills as a wordsmith are many. She draws dynamic, credible portraits of all the participants in this compelling plot and exhibits arcane knowledge of the workings of police operatives, like Cartwright behind the scenes and in the spotlight.

Anolic sensitively expresses Chloe’s tender, spiritual and sometimes tormented dreams as she struggles against the prospect of courtship with someone who may have committed an unforgivably heinous act. Chloe also contemplates the possibility of pursuing a career that she never would have imagined for herself, but for which she is emerging as highly qualified.

Readers of THE ABNORMAL GUMSHOE will hope to see Chloe and Logan in future exploits. They will be powerfully drawn to explore more of Anolic’s enthralling tales and share them with others.