Sherrie Todd-Beshore’s Fine Points Malice and Payback situates a rising detective within a complex weave of past and present mysteries. Set in Tucson’s demanding homicide division, the story brings together investigative pressure, unresolved childhood questions, and the delicate balance between instinct and evidence.
After months studying dormant case files, Detective Andrew Coates notices subtle but significant overlaps among three unsolved murders. When a fourth homicide surfaces with the same disturbing hallmarks, he finds himself unexpectedly leading an investigation that grows more tangled by the hour. As he works through interviews and inconsistencies, a fifth attack introduces the first surviving victim and an emotional entanglement that complicates his focus. Andrew’s efforts to maintain clarity become more challenging as the long-unanswered questions surrounding his own background resurface. Abandoned as a newborn and raised in foster care, he must confront what personal history means when identity and motive are central to the crimes at hand. The closer he gets to understanding the pattern, the more the boundaries between his case and his past blur.
Rookie Tucson Detective Andrew Coates who spent months going through several cold-case files connects the investigation dots of three unsolved murders. With a fourth victim discovered his captain assigns the new open case to the nervous novice. But when the harried detective begins to fall for the sister of a fifth victim the mystery of his own life intrudes into his murder investigation. Raised in foster care, not knowing who he is still haunts him…
Enjoy an Excerpt
Hospital security towed Detective Coates’ Bronco.
From the hospital emergency parking lot he was able to flag down a patrol car for a ride back to the Stone Avenue police station. As tempted as he was to take the wise advice of Dr. Lopez, he felt compelled to keep going.
Now was the time to interview Rosa Chavez’s landlord, her neighbors, friends, co-workers, and family even though the shock was still like an open wound.
The general mood on the third floor felt odd when Coates stepped off the elevator. The first detail he noticed was that Captain Fleming’s office was dark and the door was closed.
Lieutenant Brayburn looked up and waved him over to his desk. His partner, Lucia Mendoza worked to clear a paper jam at the photocopier.
Cream cheese icing from Clarence’s half-eaten cinnamon roll stuck to one side of his mouth contrasting against his dark skin. “Have you spoken to the captain yet this morning? Cause…” The senior homicide detective was interrupted when the elevator door opened and Police Chief Perez stepped out.
“Detective Coates, just the man I need to see.” The Chief of Police strode beyond the narrow elevator hallway into the open office area then beyond the rows of desks into the first available interview room.
Andrew Coates thought his heart would crash straight through his chest, and for the second time that morning his legs were like rubber.
The Tucson Chief-of-Police never came to the third floor. Everyone always went to his office either by order or invitation – only.
The young detective took a deep breath for more oxygen trying not to pass out then hurried after Pedro Perez.
When he closed the door, the ex-marine chief of police was blunt. “Make sure there’s no video or sound recording of this meeting?”
Andrew couldn’t help himself; he had to pull out a chair and sit. “Of course, sir. Absolutely. Just you and me and nothing outside this room, sir.”
Chief Perez remained standing at attention extending his five-foot, nine-inch muscular frame to full height. “Officially, I’m releasing to the press that Captain Fleming has taken ill suddenly with a previously undiagnosed heart ailment – which ironically is technically true.”
About the Author: 
Sherrie Todd-Beshore began her writing career as a reporter and editor before moving into magazines and daily newspapers across Canada and the U.S. A dual Canadian–U.S. citizen, she later shifted from journalism to fiction, writing middle-grade mysteries and adult suspense thrillers. Her award-winning titles include The Crow Child, The Count of Baldpate, and Dream Gate II: Grabbing Time. She is the author of 17 books and has earned honors from the Independent Press Award and the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards.
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