Behind the Veneer of Success Lies a Sinister Secret in Such a Good Man, a Detective Joe Burgess Murder Mystery Thriller from Kate Flora—Portland, Maine—When Dr. Eliot Spence is found dead in his pristine condo, Detective Joe Burgess and his team must delve behind his glossy façade to reveal the doctor's insatiable desires, his wife's mysterious death, and a cache of compromising photos.As Burgess and his colleagues strive to uncover the truth about the man colleagues describe as a dedicated and compassionate doctor, they unearth a web of intrigue, shocking family secrets, and hidden agendas, testing their ability to separate fact from fiction.While the detectives try to unravel the enigmatic world surrounding Dr. Spence, their own personal lives are under pressure as demands from their families threaten to derail the investigation, testing their determination—and ability—to bring justice to a man who seemed "Such a Good Man.""Kate Flora...

When a Mysterious Birth and Murder Occur at a Posh New England Prep School, Thea Kozak Finds Answers in SCHOOLED IN DEATH by Kate Flora—Massachusetts, North of Boston, Present Day—For school campus crisis counselor, Thea Kozak, Mondays are the worst day of the week. So when the phone rings early in the morning, she expects bad news. What she doesn't expect is the pain laden voice of the headmaster of the highly-respected Simmons School pouring forth his dire situation.A sophomore student had given birth to a pre-mature infant, then abandoned the child claiming it was not hers because she'd never had sex. With the baby in NICU, the teenaged mother facing criminal charges and parents demanding answers, it's Thea's job to restore calm and order while gathering the facts of what actually happened.Then Heidi, the alleged mother, disappears and the body of a stranger is discovered in the campus woods, murdered.Pregnant herself, Thea now races the clock...

Jenny Cates thought her life couldn't get worse after her boyfriend's betrayal. But when her mother is attacked, and she discovers the man she thought was her father isn't, Jenny is thrust into a deadly game. On the run from two ruthless politicians—one who wants her dead, the other who wants to use her—Jenny must rely on her own strength to survive. Armed with her mother's secret diaries, she's determined to expose the truth and destroy the campaigns of the men hunting her down.A politician's secret daughter. Two campaign rivals with different plans for how they can use her. A set of secret diaries and a videotape both sides want. Jenny Cates, an inexperienced college student, is forced to draw on her own resources as her mother lies in a coma and she goes on the run. Reading the diaries brings Jenny close to the idealistic young woman who became her mother and strengthens her resolve to protect them. Exhausted after a series of near escapes, captured by...

A Newborn, a Baby Carriage, and an Ice Cream Cone Leads to a Lingering Mystery in DEATH SENDS A MESSAGE by Kate Flora—Freeport, Maine, Present Day—Independent school consultant Thea Kozak is adjusting to motherhood and enjoying maternity leave, having just purchased a hat for her newborn son, when a hysterical woman gains her attention. The woman, also a new mother, claims her baby has just been kidnapped. Determined not to get involved, Thea flags down a police officer and hands off the problem. She returns home to her husband Andre, intending to enjoy their precious weeks of parental leave.But Thea's kindness soon brings trouble to her doorstep when a police officer asks questions about her relationship with Addison Shirley, the mother of the kidnapped child, who claimed Thea was a friend before she disappeared.The couple's hopes for a peaceful respite are quickly replaced with a break-in, a stalker, and a private school crisis involving star...

A Geologist Lies Comatose in a Portland, Maine Hospital in A World of Deceit, a Detective Joe Burgess Thriller by Kate Flora—Portland, Maine—Unable to awaken her father—eminent geologist, Ted Gabbro—nine-year-old Arielle approaches the vacationing Joe Burgess, desperate for his help.Loathe to let anything interfere with his much needed rest on the mountains of western Maine, Joe can't ignore the girl's plea for help and can't deny that something is very wrong.As the frightened girl's father languishes in a coma and her mother can't be found, Burgess finds himself in a tangle of land disputes, family politics, the child's parents' nasty divorce, and the powerful greed that accompanies "gold fever".Winner of the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction"Flora pours on the intensity in this criminal, legal and moral maze." ~Kirkus Reviews"Flora writes cops so convincingly it's hard to imagine she's never worn the...

Arriving to view what will hopefully be her dream home, Thea Kozak finds her real estate agent, Ginger Stevens, tied to a chair, surrounded by fiery space heaters. Just before the woman dies, she utters the indistinct words: Bobby. So long. Safe. Sorry.Then a stranger, claiming to be Ginger's boyfriend, corners Thea, demanding a package that Ginger gave to her, a package Thea never received.Determined to get justice for Ginger, Thea begins her own investigation. Ginger's colleagues know little about her, her apartment has been professionally sanitized, Ginger Stevens is the name of a child who died many years ago, and the Maine police have no idea who real-estate agent Ginger Stevens really is.But Thea is sure the two men following her know Ginger's true identity, and will stop at nothing to keep her from uncovering the truth behind the woman's dying words.REVIEWS:"Thea Kozak is simply one of the most refreshing and original heroines in mystery fiction, today."...

What do you do when you’re accused of an unspeakable crime and know you’re innocent, but the evidence against you is so compelling? After six years as a high school English teacher, Alexis Jordan thinks her biggest problems are a case of burnout and her suspicion that her husband is having an affair. 

Then things take a sudden, unexpected turn that threatens to end her marriage, wreck her career, and destroy her life when the student she’s coaching for the school play makes a pass at her and she turns him down. Alexis doesn’t realize that he is obsessed with her and has been building toward this moment for months. Nor that when he’s rejected, he will set out to destroy her with his version of their “affair”—which is terrifyingly plausible.

When a boy raps on Detective Burgess's car window summoning him to a burning commercial building now serving as a mosque, Burgess rushes through the intensifying flames to rescue a screaming woman and her baby locked in a closet.The young mother survives, but suffers traumatic muteness. Autopsy shows the infant was gravely ill, suggesting someone was trying to keep mother and child away from hospitals that might have asked questions.Questioning suspicious‚ uncooperative refugees‚ members of a motorcycle gang‚ and shady businessmen‚ results in threats to Burgess's family, newly grown by two adopted children.Burgess persists, certain that finding justice for the child and mute mother will solve everything, until a witnesses draws him and his team into a building... booby-trapped to explode.AWARDS:Winner of the Maine Literary Award for Crime FictionREVIEWS:"Flora pours on the intensity in this criminal, legal and moral maze...

Kate Clark Flora is the master of the mystery and true crime genres. Author of seven "strong woman" Thea Kozak mysteries and three gritty police procedurals in her star-reviewed Joe Burgess series, Girls' Night Out is her first novelette, only in Shebooks. In this delicious tale of revenge, when the man who date-raped a friend is found not guilty, the women in her book group decide to take matters into their own hands.