Grace Vaccaro works as a mental health evaluator—it’s her job to determine when people need to be hospitalized. When a paranoid man she just released is found bludgeoned to death on the banks of the Snoqualmie River, Grace wonders if she should have done more to help him. When her neighbor is found dead in the same location, she suspects a connection. Grace’s search for answers leads her from a Seattle homeless encampment to the rainy forests of the Cascades. The results are never clear. A Mexican immigrant fears deportation and refuses to talk to the police. A Native American elder works to conceal the location of ancestral gravesites. And a pregnant woman Grace just evaluated is terrified. Are her statements delusional or does she have information leading to the murderer? As Grace comes closer to the truth, her quiet home is invaded and she is the next target. She must face the killer alone and learn how far she will go to protect herself and others.

Grave Disturbance: A Pacific Northwest Mystery

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Crites, Martha

Mystery

Rat City Publishing

Product Description 
It is the rainiest year in memory when a homeless man, and a filmmaker are found murdered on the banks of the Snoqualmie River. Mental Health Evaluator, Grace Vaccaro, determines when a person is a danger to self or others and needs hospitalization. She just assessed the first man and let him go. Now he is dead. The filmmaker is her neighbor. Are the deaths related?\nGrace's search for answers leads her from a Seattle homeless encampment to a pristine forest about to be lost to mining. A Native American elder conceals the location of ancestral gravesites where bones and artifacts were disturbed. And a pregnant woman Grace just evaluated is terrified. Are her statements delusional or does she have information leading to the murderer?\nAs Grace comes closer to the truth, her quiet home is invaded, and she is the next target. She must face the killer alone and learn how far she will go to protect herself and others. 
 About the Author 
Martha Crites has worked in community and inpatient mental health for many years. She also taught at the Quileute Tribal School on the Washington Coast. She lives with her husband in Seattle. When she isn't working or writing, you will find her walking or volunteering on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Her short work has been featured in the anthology, Camino de Santiago: a spiritual companion (Redemptorist Publications 2016) and Friday Mornings Writing (2008).

Grave Disturbance

Literature & Fiction

United States

Northwest Corner Books

Late October in the Pacific Northwest foothills brings more than a change of season. Psychiatric evaluator Grace Vaccaro is on edge. A field evaluation gone wrong leads to a shooting, Grace's mother has died and ghosts from her family past are everywhere.\nWhen Laurel, a young psychiatric patient, says she killed her therapist, Grace suspects it's a delusion and sets out to prove her innocent. Then Laurel escapes from a locked unit and suspicions abound. Her parents have secrets too. Laurel is reuniting with her father, a recovering heroin addict. Just how much does he oppose mental health treatment and why? Laurel's mother doesn't trust him. The mother may have a disturbing past of her own-someone is following her.\nGrace's work partner disappears next. Is it related to the case? Grace's search leads to the Seattle music scene, an abandoned mental hospital in the North Cascades and a group of cloistered nuns on a remote island. Whenever Grace believes she's identified the killer, new information points to someone else. As Grace digs deeper, she must face both the hope and inadequacies of medical treatment of mental health in the last sixty years.

Danger to Others

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