Author Description

A handful of dead bees. A man burned alive in a field. Are the seemingly unrelated incidents connected? This is only one of many questions that Detective Nick Cross must determine in his latest, most challenging case. With the victim’s identify obliterated by fire, Cross relies on a passing motorist for an overview of what took place. But a lucky break blows the case wide open and reveals the victim’s name along with a whole host of solid clues—all leading the twelve-year veteran in different directions. Despite the absence of clarity, one fact emerges: the victim was an environmentalist embroiled in a battle to keep a lethal pesticide off the market—and he wasn’t alone in his war. A militant green activist, a math prodigy, and a self-proclaimed witch were aiding the man who wrote about the struggle under the pseudonym THE WICKER MAN. But all is not as it seems. As Cross digs deeper, he uncovers the victim’s own murky past which includes a stint in prison for falsification of data and a huge investment made in the product he later claimed hazardous. But it’s the victim’s last statement … the one about the death of a child … that becomes Cross’ obsession and the trigger for an explosive ending that makes Cross seek answers only found in faith. WICKER MAN is the fourth in the popular Nick Cross Mysteries. Each entry is a standalone and may be read separately and not in chronological order. These mysteries offer readers a unique opportunity to match wits with Detective Nick Cross. So consider this an invitation to sleuth along and try your hand at discovering who it was that struck the match that ended a man’s life—and why.