Requiem for Innocence

Book excerpt: A puzzling attack. A web of dark secrets. A race against time. In the tranquil seaside town of Cape Unity, Virginia, a young girl's puzzling attack shatters the calm, revealing a dark undercurrent of violence. Detective Scott Drayco, a seasoned investigator with a keen eye for detail, senses there's more to the story than meets the eye. With no leads, no motives, and no suspects, Drayco is drawn into a complex and dangerous investigation that uncovers twisted relationships and buried family secrets. As he digs deeper, Drayco encounters a disfigured man with a mysterious past, his enigmatic Goth son, and a potential link to a series of unsolved murders in Washington, D.C. Every discovery pulls him further into a web of deceit and danger, where each shadow conceals a threat, and every step could be his last. Drayco's growing feelings for a town councilman's wife add another layer of complexity to the case, testing his judgment and focus. As the investigation intensifies, Drayco must untangle the sinister web before the shadowy figure strikes again. With time running out, the next victim could be anyone—even Drayco himself. Praise for BV Lawson's Scott Drayco Mystery/Thriller Series: "Worth putting on your reading list." - The Library Journal "Lawson's protagonist is greatly compelling." - Publishers Weekly Booklife Prize "Lawson uses the gothic features of the abandoned Opera House to great effect, creating an atmospheric background for the crimes and the solving of them, all of it accompanied with music that's almost like another character. The pace never sagged and it kept me enthralled." - Long and Short Reviews "Lawson's book was so good, I read it twice from beginning to end...The citizens of Cape Unity are as diverse and multi-layered as any person living in the large cities, and Lawson portrayed them splendidly." - Reader's Favorite Reviews "The storyline here is nicely structured, and creatively ties together two murder mysteries, which occurred decades apart. The small town setting is ideal, the lead character engaging, and the supporting cast interesting and diverse. Overall, a solid start to this series." - Omnimystery News "A nice tight mystery in a realistic setting. Totally enjoyable." - Terrie Farley Moran, national bestselling author of the Read 'Em and Eat Mystery Series Keywords: brainy detectives, thrillers, traditional mysteries, crime thrillers, murder, mystery series, private investigator, detective books, crime series, thriller series, crime thriller series, vigilante justice, detective series, private investigator series, PI series, private eye series, crime authors, thriller authors, psychological thrillers