"A twisted mind searches for salvation as he tries to create a living goddess"

Sheriff Bill Ashton and the town of Mariposa are stunned by the discovery of five bodies laid out ritualistically in the isolated countrywide. It appears that each woman was killed approximately one year apart, with the latest victim only dead for a number of days. Who is behind these murders? And why? When an abandoned car is found unsecured with half a million in cash in the front seat, it appears that another woman has disappeared. Is she the latest victim of this serial killer?

When Air Force Captain Arlen Jones gets the news that her car has been recovered, she's delighted. Finding out that her estranged sister is behind the theft raises many questions in Arlen's mind. Samantha wouldn't hesitate to ask for money from her sister, so why steal the car instead of merely demanding money? Arlen decides to go up to Mariposa herself to find out more about the situation.

Arlen and Bill are instantly aware of the other's appeal upon their first meeting. But they've been brought together by crime, not pleasure. Still, as the days go by, Arlen finds herself increasingly drawn to Bill. Will she put her personal feelings aside to search for clues to her sister's abduction? With a surprise plot twist, the source of the money in Samantha's possession is determined. Is Arlen in danger from her sister's former "employer"?

As Bill and Arlen slowly conduct their courtship, the killer has been busy indoctrinating Samantha into his twisted version of Wiccan culture. The readers get insight into mentality of the killer and of Samantha in segments throughout the book. When the identity of the killer is finally revealed, you'll be as stunned as I was!

Although THE SUMMERLAND ends with a somewhat ambiguous note, it gives the reader something to think about. Just how real is the power behind the killer's religion? I found the ending very fitting, and although my curiosity was not fully appeased, I enjoyed Ms. Schaefer's debut mystery. She has captured the small-town feel of this northern California town and the personalities that populate it. Don't miss the sequel that is available now from Atlantic Bridge.

Reviewed by Denise Powers
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted February 21, 2004

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Summary

Mariposa is a beautiful blink-and-you-miss-it Gold Rush town on the border of Yosemite National Park. Sheriff Bill Ashton's life is good, quiet, until the bodies of five women are discovered in the remote foothills and all hell breaks loose. Then another woman disappears, leaving her estranged sister's stolen car and half a million in cash behind as their only clues.

Air Force Captain Arden Jones hasn't spoken to her sister in years, but Samantha's disappearance galvanizes her, sending her to small-town America in search of the black sheep of the family.

Thrown together by circumstance, Bill and Arden explore Samantha's disappearance and her probable connection to the murdered women. Neither expects, nor welcomes, the attraction that surges between them, or the fact that setting aside long-held beliefs may be the only way to stop a madman bent on creating the perfect woman, the one true goddess central to the Wiccan religion, Diana.