A Heritage of Death

The killer who targeted her sister is gone. Cici thought the nightmares would stop.

They haven't.

When a bruised, bloodied woman appears in Cici's dreams — a woman who looks alarmingly like her — Cici writes it off as grief. Then a missing baby turns up on her porch, and the case in her nightmare begins to look disturbingly real. The victim dies before Cici and Detective Sam Chastain can reach her. Pinned to her blouse: a message. "You're next."

Anna Carmen's ghost has been warning Cici for weeks. Cici just wasn't listening.

In the award-winning series that Kirkus Reviews calls "thoroughly enjoyable" and Darynda Jones calls "a breathtaking tale" — the next chapter of Cici Gurule's story is her most dangerous yet.

TIMELESS PRAISE FOR J.J. Cagney

"A wholly absorbing gumshoe tale elevated by an extraordinary detective." —Kirkus Reviews

"Vivid, alluring, and heart‑wrenching… every reason I love mystery." —New York Times Bestseller Darynda Jones

"Written in a clear, distinct style, Padgett uses the prose to elicit tension and emotion and creates a tense, fast-paced story." —The BookLife Prize

"An edge-of-my-seat thrill ride that kept me guessing all the way through." — USA Today Bestseller Allyson Lindt

"The prose is…sublimely concise." —Kirkus Reviews

"I'm pretty giddy that this will be a series! It's packed with a good mystery and the cat and mouse makes it hard to put down." —Next Book Review

"An exhilarating entry in a thoroughly enjoyable series." —Kirkus Reviews