The Canary Murder

Of one thing, Beth Grant was certain. The kidnappers had murdered twenty-six-year-old Lizzie Lancaster before they collected the ransom. It had all happened backward. The kidnapping mastermind took the money and then took his own life. His accomplice took a plea deal. Law enforcement took a bribe. Lizzie took the brunt of a killer's cruelty. Preston, Mississippi, painted itself a quintessential southern town, but the lawlessness was pure narcoterrorism. Decades later, nothing had changed. Now living in Florida, a client meeting takes Beth back to Mississippi and leads to a chance encounter with Lizzie's husband, Dwayne. The kidnapping was never far from Beth's mind. As a child, she had known Lizzie and Dwayne. Beth's suspicions reignited, she launches her own investigation with the help of an eccentric employee, unearthing ongoing corruption that extends well beyond Mississippi. Illegal narcotics, money laundering, and a suspicious death penalty case all have chilling political and international implications. Risking everything, Beth pursues the truth and faces a final climax of death and horror.

Of one thing, Beth Grant was certain. The kidnappers had murdered twenty-six-year-old Lizzie Lancaster before they collected the ransom. It had all happened backward. The kidnapping mastermind took the money and then took his own life. His accomplice took a plea deal. Law enforcement took a bribe. Lizzie took the brunt of a killer's cruelty. Preston, Mississippi, painted itself a quintessential southern town, but the lawlessness was pure narcoterrorism. Decades later, nothing had changed. Now living in Florida, a client meeting takes Beth back to Mississippi and leads to a chance encounter with Lizzie's husband, Dwayne. The kidnapping was never far from Beth's mind. As a child, she had known Lizzie and Dwayne. Beth's suspicions reignited, she launches her own investigation with the help of an eccentric employee, unearthing ongoing corruption that extends well beyond Mississippi. Illegal narcotics, money laundering, and a suspicious death penalty case all have chilling political and international implications. Risking everything, Beth pursues the truth and faces a final climax of death and horror.

C.B. Shannon left the corporate world in lieu of cold case investigations and mystery writing. The author's other passions include dogs, boating, and reading. The Canary Murder is dedicated to the more than 600,000 people who go missing every year in the United States.