The Woman Who Rode to the Moon: A Cordelia Morgan Mystery

Betrayed by a friend and her life in a shambles, J. S. Symkin heads for the relative repose of a gated community in Colorado but finds danger and adventure waiting for her there as well. Original.

A worthy sequel to Johnson's well-received debut novel, The Woman Who Knew Too Much, the second Cordelia Morgan mystery is an intricately woven tale of memory, betrayal, and greed. When the poet J.S. Symkin's academic career is derailed by a false accusation, she escapes to a beautiful and remote planned community in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of Colorado, unaware that the disgruntled former owner of her house maintains a "previous claim" on the property she has painstakingly restored. Just as Symkin begins to familiarize herself with the residents of El Gato, they begin to die. Each of the neighbors seems to hold a piece or two of the puzzle, but it is the glamorous Eva Blake who lures Symkin into a dangerous private investigation of the community and its apparent link to a serial killer. The sparks between Eva and Symkin are rivaled by Symkin's attraction to the local sheriff, a mysterious man who admits that he, too, has a connection to her house. The Woman Who Rode to the Moon is a well-written and suspenseful tale, languorously paced until the final satisfying chapters. --Regina Marler