Cold Day in July

the long version

Toussaint, Louisiana, is a sleepy bayou town where people know their neighbors and everyone feels safe--until the shattered body of a young woman is found at the base of St. Cecil's belfry stairs. But is she the victim of a tragic accident or something more sinister? Marc Girard doesn't believe in accidents. What he does believe is that the dead woman may be his missing sister. Now, he's coming home to Toussaint--where his wealthy family still casts a powerful shadow--in order to find the truth, no matter where it leads him...or to whom. Medical examiner Reb O'Brien remembers the day Marc left her behind, just as she remembers the mysterious murders of two other women a year earlier--crimes with eerie echoes of this one. With no one to trust but each other, Marc and Reb find themselves slipping down deep into the shadows of the Big Easy, where a town's darkest secrets lie waiting, and a killer is ready to strike another deadly blow.