FINAL RESPECTS--First book in the RBPD series
The beginnings of this first book came from all the hours my police officer son-in-law, Mike, visited me when he got off his nightly shift. Frankly, I didn't know a whole lot about writing or publishing back then even though I'd written two historical family sagas. I read a lot of mysteries and I knew the tales Mike related could be turned into a compelling mystery. During that time period we lived in a beach community--and of course, I wanted to set this book in a similar one, though I moved it up the coast a bit and gave it a different look. One of the local cops had been killed while investigating a domestic violence call. Mike told me a lot about what happened and different people's reactions. He also told me about one of the officers who was a publicity hound. My youngest daughter had a friend who lived in a house behind her father's mortuary. My daughter loved to go over and spend the night. I learned that she and her friend and two sisters liked to play in the...