Secrets of the Last Castle

Attorney Elizabeth Campbell and Detective Grace Donovan find themselves once again on opposite sides of a case when Elizabeth represents a young man accused of murdering an elderly woman, a case in which Grace is the lead detective. Initially even Elizabeth doubts his innocence, but as she begins to dig, she finds a much deeper, darker secret that leads to an abandoned antebellum plantation that was a former headquarters for the Knights of the Golden Circle – a secret society that was believed to have disappeared after the Civil War. 

When Elizabeth and Grace join forces to take down the Knights of the Golden Circle, they must also learn to separate work from love or risk losing each other forever.

Attorney Elizabeth Campbell turned her back on her silver spoon upbringing and finds emotional fulfillment in her work at a nonprofit legal clinic, much to the dismay of her parents.

Her propensity for bending the law, as well as uttering a few choice phrases, makes her pairing with a Catholic priest to investigate the case of a simple man with an IQ of a child, who confessed to a brutal killing, a challenge. But solving a gruesome murder is not even her greatest trial—it’s her growing attraction to sexy but cranky Detective Grace Donovan who is hell-bent on keeping her client in prison.

While chasing a mystery that found its way from the concentration camps of WWII to an abandoned Catholic school, Elizabeth and Grace struggle to set personal boundaries, as their relationship slowly evolves from one of hostility to indifference, to something neither wishes to define.

Advance praise from Foreword Reviews:

"A thematically compelling journey through a town’s dark underbelly, Sins of Our Fathers, by A. Rose Mathieu, is an excellent blend of mystery and romance....In addition to dealing with an ever-growing stream of murders, [Elizabeth] Campbell must also contend with her feelings for steely yet attractive Detective Grace Donovan....Sins of Our Fathers is excellently paced, introducing characters and situations in a way that allows for their natural extrapolation as the novel progresses. While the case that Campbell is charged with reinvestigating initially appears to be an open-and-shut claim, larger forces are shown to have influenced it. The novel weaves together a political and religious world outside of the courts....Sins of Our Fathers seamlessly blends a ghastly murder mystery with an intriguing romance."

Detective Inspector Jo Shaw is bored, desk-bound, and absolutely not supposed to answer the phone call that sends her to a body in an empty house. Thrown in at the deep end after an injury that almost killed her, she’s determined to prove she’s fit to work. And while a case full of unclear motives and multiple suspects isn’t quite what the doctor ordered, being back in a relationship with her favorite doctor certainly won’t hurt.

When the investigation takes a chilling turn and the Serious Crime Team struggles to connect the dots, Jo asks Isla Munro to help her follow the slenderest of leads. It’s a lead that will take her away from Moorside’s deprived streets and into the lives of the rich and privileged. But these people will do anything to preserve their own interests, and Jo is putting herself—and those closest to her—directly in their line of fire.

Seventeen-year-old Ella Gatz is alone when the thief enters her father’s mansion on Halloween night. Ella fights the intruder but fails to stop the theft of Her Heart, her mother’s favorite painting. Ella mourns the loss of the only remaining piece of the mother she lost, and when her father, CEO of a security firm, refuses to report the crime for fear of the humiliation he will face at having his security system fail in his own home, Ella determines to hunt down the culprit and reclaim Her Heart.

The only hint to who the thief may be is a long, pink-and-blond hair. Finding her thief will become Ella’s first move in a dangerous game of wits that exposes family secrets and could lead to her family’s financial ruin.

Cain Casey has much to be thankful for—a loving wife in Emma, three beautiful children, and an ever-expanding family. Her business continues to grow, giving her the power to keep it all safe, but is it? Unknown federal agents are not playing by the government’s rules, and the Russian mob comes seeking revenge for the losses Cain’s inflicted. Cain and Emma have agreed to partner with the local feds to root out their rogue agents, but their goals for the endgame are completely different. Cain wants to remove the threat the way she knows is best—permanently. There is also Nicola Antakov, who she plans to handle the same way. 

Cain Casey is the devil you know. She loves her family and will do anything to keep them safe and whole.

Special Liaison to the FBI Louisa Linebach may have defied all odds by identifying the bodies of three missing men in the Kenai Peninsula, but she won’t be satisfied until the man she’s sure is responsible for their murders is behind bars.

Mr. Drew is secretive, smart, rich, and well-connected, and it’s going to take more than regular police procedure to catch him. Louisa has a plan—a stakeout with Kenai Fjords National Park as home base. As Louisa watches Mr. Drew’s crew coming and going, she begins to put together how the operation works with the help of Seward Police Chief Mikey Harper; Louisa’s love-interest, medical examiner Anna Fenway; and National Parks Service ranger Dolly Agapov, who has a very personal reason for wanting the mysteries surrounding Mr. Drew solved.

The case is turned upside down when Dolly’s grandchild, Ryne, goes missing—and it’s not clear whether Ryne’s been ensnared by the crime ring, or if they’re risking their life to help Louisa. Only one thing is for sure. If Louisa doesn’t catch Mr. Drew soon, the body count will rise.