Seven years ago Amy Crosby’s husband, Dan, disappeared under baffling circumstances in the little town of Independence, Kansas. No marital dispute. No warning. No suicide note. As bizarre as taking out the garbage and never coming back.

She has no hope of seeing him again and presumes he’s dead. So Amy begins legal proceedings to have the inventor of unusual devices declared deceased. Simple . . . that is, it would be simple without his valuable patents and insurance money.

What starts as a normal procedure turns into a fiasco. With her take-it-in-stride, confessions queen sense of humor, she endures blackmail, threats on her life, and repeated burglaries. Then someone close to her is murdered, and she realizes that an enemy wants to do more than frighten her. Whoever has an interest in her husband, everyone from his business partners to his family members, isn’t playing games.

Sexy police detective Brad Tyler is assigned to the case . . . in more ways than one. Amy teeters on a precarious line between convincing him of her innocence and seeking his protection. An overpowering attraction makes their relationship a high-stakes race against the clock to find the killer. Coffee, tea, or murder anyone?