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A Town in
Trouble
Port Silva, California
Elevation 100 feet
Established 1885
Population 24,020
When Janet LaPierre's first Port Silva mystery was published,
Booklist hailed it as "a razor-sharp debut."
About Meg Halloran's and Vince Gutierrez's first appearance together,
respected critic Ellen Nehr praised "the smooth presentation
of believable characters and coastal atmosphere." Reviewers
called the succeeding books, "satisfying"(Publishers
Weekly), "deftly woven"(San Francisco Chronicle),"warm
and thoroughly engrossing"(West Coast Review of Books),
"seductive"(PW), and "taut, telling suspense"(PW).
The feelings of LaPierre's readers for her series characters
were summed up by Mystery News: "Let's just say Meg
Halloran rides again, and it's been too long."
Now high school teacher Meg and her police chief husband are
back, along with other memorable townspeople, in LaPierre's new
novel of suspense. Baby Mine is the sixth in the series
and the first to be published by Perseverance Press/John Daniel
and Company. Told with LaPierre's characteristic subtlety and
power, Baby Mine depicts a difficult time for the Northern
California seaside town, as well as for Meg and Vince's marriage.
Drawn from the news stories of the nineties, Baby Mine
brings to life the human consequences of such social forces as
a depressed economy, an overstressed environment, and an influx
of immigrants straining limited resources. These influences come
together in the dramatic and mysterious events at a local fertility
clinic. Port Silva's web of small-town relationships is fraying;
unemployment, racism, and religious zealotry collide to produce
an unprecedented crime wave; and Meg and Vince must help their
town recover its interconnectedness and save itself.

About the Author. Janet LaPierre's five previous Port
Silva novels include Unquiet Grave, Children's Games, The
Cruel Mother, Grandmother's House, and Old Enemies.
Each of them can be read alone as a fine literary mystery. LaPierre
has also written short stories for magazines and anthologies.
One of her stories and two of her novels have been nominated
for Anthony and Macavity Awards. She lives in Berkeley, California,
with her husband and often visits her beloved north coast in
a 25-foot travel trailer with her yellow Lab, Emmitt Smith, and
her laptop.
Baby Mine
A Port Silva Mystery
Janet LaPierre
ISBN 1-880284-32-4
256 pages, paperback, $12.95
For ordering information, click here,
or phone (800) 662-8351 or
order this book now!
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