Following MORTAL DILEMMA, retired attorney, part-time investigator and full-time beach bum Matt Royal returns to courtroom drama not seen since CHASING JUSTICE and the glory days of John Grisham’s legal masterpieces.

"Despite imbecilic bad-guy characters that a novice paralegal could trounce, Matt’s judicature acumen draws from classic police procedurals and forensics investigation lore."

The Gulf of Mexico waters are calm for Sarasota’s tony enclave of Longboat Key, but Matt’s gal pal with benefits, Detective J.D. Duncan, has “a problem. Aunt Esther is in the Sumter County jail. She’s charged with murder.” Esther Higgins is a resident of The Villages, Florida’s largest active adult community, “often described as a Disney World for retirees.” Olivia Lathom’s body was found at The Villages’ Paddock Square. Lathom was a lackluster writer who surprised everyone with a blockbuster novel --- shortly after book club member Ruth Bergstrom sent Aunt Esther’s unpublished manuscript to Lathom.

J.D. goes undercover in The Villages posing as bookstore clerk Jade Conway, “taking a page from Jock’s book, doing what had to be done even if it violated the law.” A few years back, Matt had a legal encounter with the Sumter County sheriff, which doesn’t fair well for Aunt Esther, and now must conceal his indirect relationship with the sheriff’s prisoner. Bail rarely is permitted for those charged with homicide. Meanwhile, Matt tracks down Miss Georgia beauty contestants from the 1970s, and ties up more loose ends than a platter of spaghetti.

Despite imbecilic bad-guy characters that a novice paralegal could trounce, Matt’s judicature acumen draws from classic police procedurals and forensics investigation lore. His courtroom-choreographed gavotte thrills spectators and astounds the prosecuting attorney. “A fine way to end what we referred to as JAPDIP --- just another perfect day in paradise.”