Big Breath In
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- $24.99
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- $24.99
Publisher Description
A retired marine biologist turned amateur sleuth has an ax to grind—and a child to save—in this new standalone mystery from the author of the acclaimed Cecil Younger series.
Diagnosed with terminal cancer, retired marine biologist Delphine is on the brink of throwing in the towel. She has outlived her PI husband and worries she’s become a burden to her son and his growing family. One night, while contemplating how to go on, Delphine witnesses a violent argument between a man and his girlfriend. When Delphine discovers the woman has gone missing along with her young child, Delphine embarks on a quest to find them.
What begins as a chance encounter balloons into a rescue mission across the Pacific Northwest. Along the way, Delphine encounters the dregs of humanity—grappling with schemers, kidnappers, and murderers—as well as its joys. With the help of a few friends, a retired PI, and a queer biker gang, Delphine is determined to see her mission through . . . knowing full well it may be her last.
While Big Breath In stands alone, longtime Straley fans will recognize the characteristic wit, heart, and contemplation of life that threads through every one of his books—and discover a new heroine to fall in love with.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After living with pancreatic cancer for three years, 60-something retired marine biologist Delphine is preparing to stop chemo treatments when an appeal from an old friend thrusts her into danger in this elegiac standalone from Straley (the Cecil Younger series). The request comes from an associate of Delphine's late husband who's working to recover a child whose mother surrendered her to black-market baby broker Tyler Dearborn—whom Delphine happens to recognize from her Seattle hospital's ER. Though undercover sleuthing is one of the last activities she's equipped for, Delphine craves more action than writing transfer memos to her colleagues in whale research. Soon, she winds up in the middle of a treacherous battle between Tyler's child-trafficking ring and an Aryan biker gang. Straley seamlessly interweaves heart-pumping action, fascinating insights on whales' social behavior, and poignant flashbacks to Delphine's life before she got sick. Though the plot relies heavily on coincidence, its emotional core rings true—largely because of Delphine, whom Straley reveals in the acknowledgments is based on his wife, a former investigator and marine biologist who has Parkinson's. It's potent stuff.
