DEAD MAN’S LEAP

Rushing waters…dead bodies…secrets…

As Bianca St. Denis and her neighbors scour their attics for donations to the charity rummage sale, they unearth secrets as well as prized possessions. Leonard Marshall’s historic inn hosts the sale each year, but it is his basement that houses the key to his past. When an enigmatic antiques dealer arrives in town, he upends Leonard’s carefully reconstructed life with an impossible choice that harkens back to the past.

Meanwhile, when a storm forces the villagers of Batavia-on-Hudson to seek shelter, the river rises and so do tempers. Close quarters fuel simmering disputes, and Sheriff Mike Riley has his work cut out for him. When the floods wash up a corpse, Bianca once again finds herself teaming up with Sheriff Riley to solve a mystery. Are they investigating an accidental drowning or something more nefarious?

Dead Man’s Leap explores the burden of secrets, the relief of renunciation, and the danger of believing we can outpace our past.

. . .

“The river is rising and the residents of Batavia-on-Hudson take shelter in the community center, along with their pets, their treasures, and their secrets. Dead Man's Leap is the best kind of claustrophobic and all kinds of compelling. A real treat.”

~ Catriona McPherson, multi-award-winning author of A Gingerbread House

“Deep, long-hidden secrets form the core of Tina deBellegarde’s fascinating sophomore mystery, a sophisticated and heartfelt exploration of a small Catskills community, those who have chosen to call it home, and the measures they’ll go to protect it from internal and external forces, both natural and otherwise. This novel will leave you thinking long after you’ve turned the last page.

~ Edwin Hill, Agatha- and Edgar-nominated author of The Secrets We Share

“A fierce rainstorm, and the resulting flooding, uncovers long buried secrets in Batavia-on-Hudson. Themes of love and loss, holding on and letting go, and the tight bonds of friendship are paramount in this second character driven mystery by Agatha Award nominee Tina deBellegarde.”

~ Eleanor Kuhns, author of the Will Rees Mysteries.

“Tina deBellegarde’s Dead Man's Leap is a gorgeous symphony of voices and moods that builds to a surprising crescendo when deep secrets of Batavia-on-Hudson begin to float to the surface. You’ll fall in love with Bianca St. Denis as she navigates the troubled waters of personal grief, local intrigue, and awakening desire.”

~ Kelly Oliver, award-winning author of the Jessica James Mysteries, 

the Kassy O’Roarke Pet Detective series and Fiona Figg Mysteries