Death at Daybreak

It seemed like a perfect plan, all summer relaxing at a luxurious and private estate on a small island located just off the coast of northern Maine. Rachel Maguire and her niece and nephew are planning a quiet summer, enjoying a break from their wildly successful personal care products company, mystuff.com and developing plans for their next entrepreneurial project. Jared and Allison dream of converting Daybreak House into an elegant boutique hotel catering to successful young professionals like themselves. The brother and sister also plan on spending lots of time with two very special friends who live on Egg Island, the nearby resort town.

Rachel arrives a day early to open the estate but the summer gets off to an ominous start when she is nearly scared out of her wits on the first night by an apparent ghost walking the halls. It doesn't get better when an intruder murdered the following night, shortly after Jared and Allison arrive with their houseguest, Jack. Jack had argued with the murder victim earlier that night and he is soon suspected of the murder, then implicated in bank fraud after he suddenly disappears. There's plenty of evidence to suggest that either Jared or Allison could have pulled the trigger, but they aren't talking except to defend their missing friend's innocence. In the meantime, Jared learns his girlfriend intends to marry a man she loathes, and she won't even talk to him about it. Rachel sees her small family unraveling as suspicion whirls around Allison and Jared, and neither of them will confide in her. Getting no help from them and fearing they will be accused of the murder, Rachel hires a private detective to find the murderer and clear the names of her niece and nephew. Or was Dan Jamieson hired to help Rachel do that? It depends on who you ask. As the summer goes on and the mystery deepens, their relationships with each other and those they love will be threatened by those they trust the most as they struggle to restore reputations and relationships. And then there's the strange haunting of Daybreak House to contend with. Is there really a ghost prowling the halls and wall at night, or something else?