SNOW BLIND

The frigid winter months are mighty slow in the PI biz for Julie Collins and her partner, Kevin Wells — until the duo is hired by a young woman to investigate problems at her grandfather’s assisted living facility, where they encounter lax security, unqualified healthcare personnel and a shady senior volunteer organization.

Julie barely has time to delve deeper into the puzzling case before she reluctantly finds herself in an isolated cattle shelter on the Collins ranch with her father during a raging blizzard and no way to escape him or her bitter memories.

A missing hired ranch hand who is found dead only complicates matters further. In trying to uncover the truth about the man’s death, Julie wrestles with issues that make her question old wounds and her new family loyalties.

Kevin’s reckless involvement with their new client tests the bounds of professionalism, and Julie’s relationship with Tony Martinez is strained, as he deals with power struggles within the Hombres organization, putting them both in danger.

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Shallow Grave

Surveillance on an insurance fraud case in Bear Butte County unfolds tragically for PI Julie Collins and her partner, Kevin Wells. The reappearance of a mysterious hole—cause of the fatal accident—brings about the landowner’s unsettling confession; bones were recently uncovered on that remote ridge. Fearing repercussions from their illegal off-season hunting, the hunters reburied the remains and kept quiet.

Now the hole is back, but the bones have vanished.

Were the bones part of an ancient Indian burial ground? Connected to the unsolved disappearance of a Native American woman? The overworked, understaffed sheriff asks for Julie’s help.

But the case opens old wounds, and she finds herself at odds with the Standing Elk family, discovering they withheld information from her in the months before Ben’s death. And Julie’s relationship with Tony Martinez hits a rough spot when she agrees to go undercover in his strip club.

On the wrong side of tribal politics, family disputes, and employee rivalries, Julie continues to dig for answers . . . while the personal stakes climb. In a brutal fight for her life, Julie finally comes face to face with her brother’s killer . . . and realizes not all deceptions run deep.

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Hallowed Ground

Grisly murders are rocking the small county of Bear Butte where Julie Collins has spent the last few months learning the PI biz without the guidance of her best friend and business partner, Kevin Wells. Enter dangerous, charismatic entrepreneur Tony Martinez, who convinces Julie to take a case involving a missing five-year-old Native American girl, the innocent pawn in her parents’ child custody dispute. Although skeptical about Martinez’ motives in hiring her and confused by her strange attraction to him, Julie nevertheless sees the opportunity to hone her investigative skills outside her office.

But something about the case doesn’t ring true. The girl’s father is foreman on the controversial new Indian casino under construction at the base of the sacred Mato Paha, and the girl’s mother is secretly working for a rival casino rumored to have ties to an east coast crime family. Local ranchers—including her father—a Lakota Holy group, and casino owners from nearby Deadwood are determined to stop the gaming facility from opening.

With the body count rising, the odds are stacked against Julie to discover the truth behind these hidden agendas before the murderer buries it forever. And when Julie unwittingly attracts the attention of the killer, she realizes no place is safe . . . not even hallowed ground.

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Blood Ties...What do they mean?

How far would someone go to sever...or protect them?

Julie Collins is stuck in a dead-end secretarial job with the Bear Butte County Sheriff's office, and still grieving over the unsolved murder of her Lakota half-brother. Lack of public interest in finding his murderer or the killer of several other transient Native American men, has left Julie with a bone-deep cynicism she counters with tequila, cigarettes, and dangerous men. read more

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Anthology published by Penury Press in 2004
Lori Armstrong is one of the 25 contributing authors in Who Died in Here?

Editorial Review from Amazon.com
Product Description:
WHO DIED IN HERE? is an outstanding collection of mystery short stories of crimes and bathrooms, ranging from zany to deadly serious. Selected by Pat Dennis, author of Hotdish To Die For, the 25 storytellers' writing credits include prestigious magazines such as Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Television series such as Nash Bridges and Designing Women.

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Who Died in Here? is a finalist for the 2004 Book of the Year from ForeWord Magazine in the short story category.