Fault Lines

Recommended for fans of Susan Wittig Albert's mysteries featuring China Bayles, Ruby Wilcox, and Pecan Springs, Texas.

The fatal faults of the past can't be buried deep enough to hide them from a friend's heart.

It's beginning to seem inevitable: Pecan Springs' only newspaper is folding and crime reporter Jessica Nelson and the rest of the Enterprise staff are losing their jobs. Whose fault is it? Can anything be done to stop it?

At the same time, Jessica herself is struggling with a secret born from the arson deaths of her family: a debilitating fear of fire that threatens her ability to do her work.

But those aren't the only frightening issues on Jessica's plate. Her friend Ruby Wilcox, developing her psychic skills with the help of the secretive director of the paranormal psychology lab at the university, is compelled to dig up a long-buried secret from her past—and begs Jessica and China Bayles to help. What will they find? Whose fatal fault will they uncover? Can the killer finally be held to account for a long-forgotten murder?