Common Disaster

Natalie Dvorak #13:

Sergeant Natalie Dvorak of the Vermont State Police is the investigating officer at the scene of a traffic fatality. It is an unpleasant yet routine duty and the person killed at the scene of the accident was a prominent citizen. The man’s wife has survived but is in critical condition. The accident itself is an easily closed case but the victims’ family gathers for a vigil around the injured woman. Control of a big company and a life insurance payout are at stake. When a second death occurs the cause is unnatural but who committed murder? There are several people with a motive but the instrument of death is not a handy, household item. Natalie and her partners on the detective squad find rivalries among the survivors, anger and resentment, power struggles and mutual suspicions. Meanwhile, the police have to deal with public outrage against one of their own, something that threatens to distract Natalie from her murder investigation.