Next of Kin

Annie McIntyre Mysteries, Book 3

By: Samantha Jayne Allen

Narrated by: Sandy Rustin

At a gathering for her cousin's wedding party, newly licensed PI Annie McIntyre gets asked an age-old question: What really makes us who we are, nature or nurture? Clint Marshall, an up-and-coming musician and an adoptee at a personal crossroads, wants to hire Annie to find his biological parents, and that question has been on his mind. Annie accepts his case, not knowing then that she, too, must decide if she really believes what she tells him that night—in essence, that people are in charge of their destinies. That people can change.

When Annie discovers her client’s father is a bank robber whom her granddad, Leroy, arrested back when he was sheriff, reverberations sound between the past and the present, igniting old flames and rivalries. And when a family member of her client dies suddenly, the death ruled a suicide, Annie questions whether or not it was, in fact, homicide—and who in this family of outlaws would rather some secrets stay buried.

As Annie sets out to find the killer—and stays out of sight lest she be next—she finds herself searching abandoned, overgrown fields, scouring pool halls and roadside motels, wondering if she will ever escape the sense that her world in Garnett, Texas, expands and contracts in off-kilter ways, growing smaller and yet still more confounding. Fearing that in a place where everyone knows everyone, your enemy is always closer than you think.

©2024 Samantha Jayne Allen (P)2024 Recorded Books

Fantastic story! Never saw that ending coming!

I loved the first two books in this series and was pleasantly surprised that I liked the third even more. A rarity with most series. Samantha did a wonderful job laying the groundwork for her latest mystery, and the ending caught me by surprise. What stood out about her writing style is that I could feel what the characters were feeling - natural and intuitive thoughts and language throughout.

Thank you for the time and effort you put into the series, Samantha!

Susan E.