Every Last Secret: A Skeet Bannion Mystery

by Linda Rodriguez

Cherokee Marquitta "Skeet" Bannion thought she was leaving her troubles behind when she fled the stress of being the highest-ranking woman in the Kansas City Police Department, a jealous cop ex-husband, and a disgraced alcoholic ex-cop father. Moving to a small town to be chief of a college's campus police force, she builds a life outside of her work. She might even begin a new relationship with the amiable Brewster police chief.

All of this is threatened when the student editor of the school newspaper is found murdered on campus. Skeet must track down the killer, following trails that lead to some of the most powerful people in the university. In the midst of her investigation, Skeet assumes responsibility for a vulnerable teenager when her ex-husband and seriously ailing father wind up back on her hands. Time is running out and college administrators demand she conceal all college involvement in the murder, but Skeet will not stop until she's unraveled every last secret.

Praise for Every Last Secret:

"Rodriguez's debut is an action-packed ride featuring heroine you won't quickly forget." —Sally Goldenbaum, author of The Wedding Shawl

"Linda Rodriguez delivers a lively look at a woman rebuilding her life in 'Every Last Secret.' ...Rodriguez's energetic storytelling and attention to character prove she is an author who should have a bright future. Skeet is in touch with her Cherokee heritage. Her determination to make a fresh start will resonate with anyone who has started a new job or moved to a new town." —Oline H. Cogdill, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

"Rodriguez writes clearly and forcefully....Fans of tough female detectives like V.I. Warshawski and Kinsey Millhone will be pleased." —Publishers Weekly

"Skeet's debut introduces a strong, intelligent woman detective with both a knack for solving crimes and a difficult personal life. The next episode can't come too soon." —Kirkus Reviews

"With a strong heroine struggling to find balance in her work and personal life, this intriguing debut shows great promise....Good read-alikes might be Lori Armstrong and Sara Paretsky for formidable heroines with baggage." —Library Journal

"Every Last Secret would appear to follow any one of several tried and true conventions—a village mystery, a police procedural, a cozy replete with Skeet's knitting and pets, or an ethnic mystery playing off its determined heroine's half-Cherokee ancestry—but with solid writing and honest insights into human complexity, Rodriguez manages to employ all these familiar tropes with considerable élan." —Mystery Scene Magazine

Linda Rodriguez lives in Kansas City, Missouri. Every Family Doubt, her fourth mystery featuring Cherokee detective Skeet Bannion, and Revising the Character-Driven Novel will be published in 2022. Her three earlier Skeet novels—Every Hidden Fear, Every Broken Trust, and Every Last Secret—and earlier books of poetry—Skin Hunger and Heart's Migration—have received critical recognition and awards, such as St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Best First Novel, International Latino Book Award, Latina Book Club Best Book, Midwest Voices & Visions, Elvira Cordero Cisneros Award, Thorpe Menn Award, Oklahoma Book Award finalist, and Ragdale and Macondo fellowships. Her short story, "The Good Neighbor," published in Kansas City Noir, has been optioned for film. She is past chair of the AWP Indigenous Writers Caucus and past president of the Border Crimes chapter of Sisters in Crime. Learn more about her at http://lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com/

$17.95 trade paper, 288 pp.
Published September 28, 2021
ISBN-10: 0979129168
ISBN-13: 978-0-9791291-6-2

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