Emily

The Lt. Kate Gazzara Murder Files, Case 23

Two murders. A library. A century of secrets.

When prominent Chattanooga businessman Augustus Aldridge III is found dead in his mansion’s library, Lt. Kate Gazzara discovers something chilling: nearly a century earlier, a young woman named Emily Caldwell was murdered in that same room.

The cause of death: poisoning—carefully planned, expertly administered. The suspects include family members desperate for inheritance, longtime staff with hidden grudges, and a household full of people who each had means, motive, and opportunity.

But as Kate digs deeper into Augustus’s death, she uncovers his secret obsession with Emily’s unsolved murder. And the more she learns about the past, the more she realizes that in the Aldridge mansion, some secrets are worth killing for. Even a century later.

From the bestselling author of the Lt. Kate Gazzara series comes a gripping tale of murder, buried secrets, and a detective who won’t stop until she uncovers the truth.

©2026 Blair Howard (P)2026 Blair Howard and Blackstone Publishing