A detective’s love for an orphaned girl witness has her turning a blind eye to evidence that could stop a wave of unnatural murders.
Mute follows detective Monique “Moni” Williams, who is recovering from child abuse and feels held back by racial stereotyping on the force. If there’s any hope of stopping the murders along Florida’s Indian River Lagoon, she must coax out Mariella’s account of the gruesome beheadings of her parents. The traumatic attack has rendered the eight-year-old mute. Moni vows to protect her from both the killer and her supervising detective as he demands answers in the case.
The pressure on Moni intensifies when tumor-stricken animals, from gators to deceptively deadly manatees, attack people in the lagoon. Then they pursue Mariella. The girl’s drawings foreshadow several murders, which carve up witnesses and people who pestered the girl. Moni refuses to acknowledge the pattern, even as the toxic changes in the lagoon threaten life along the Space Coast. Can Moni protect the girl? Or is the child the last one who needs saving?
Mute is intended for fans of reality-bending thrillers, such as Dean Koontz novels, with a touch of The X Files and Fringe.
Set for publication with Silver Leaf Books. I posted about two-fifths of it here.
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