When a detective is kidnapped, it sends him on a quest down a rabbit hole filled with mystery, mayhem, and murder.

How would you solve your own kidnapping? And what if the reason behind it was even stranger than you could ever imagine? When detective Scott Drayco is abducted and given a mysterious puzzle to solve, his predicament is bizarre enough. But after he's released and one of his kidnappers is killed—a man who allegedly died five years ago—what began as a puzzling situation turns into an even stranger quest. Meanwhile, Drayco's father, Brock, has a new girlfriend with a shady background, and the timing of the relationship feels far too coincidental. When an even shadier connection also appears to be involved in Drayco’s abduction, the stakes become deeply personal. Feeling stymied at every turn—and unable to get a song the dead man was obsessed with out of his head—Drayco wonders if he’s too close to the case to be objective. Who was the mastermind behind the kidnapping, and what were their real motives? And was the death of the one kidnapper an accident ... or murder? Drayco does know one thing for certain: he has to get to the bottom of the mystery soon, or more people could die ... Praise for the Scott Drayco Mystery/Thriller Series: "Worth putting on your reading list." - The Library Journal "Lawson's protagonist is greatly compelling." - Publishers Weekly Booklife Prize "Lawson’s book was so good, I read it twice from beginning to end." - Readers Favorite Reviews Keywords: brainy detectives, thrillers, traditional mysteries, crime thrillers, murder, mystery series, private investigator, detective books, crime series, thriller series, crime thriller series, vigilante justice, detective series, private investigator series, PI series, private eye series, crime authors, thriller authors, psychological thrillers

Can a piece of music be cursed? A song linked to suicides is found with a victim's body, but was it really suicide-or a cleverly disguised murder?

A mysterious attack on a young girl. No motives, no suspects. Just one determined detective who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth. Crime consultant Scott Drayco is in the middle of a thorny case in Washington, D.C. involving murder victims who were all wheelchair-bound. Then, out of the blue, he gets a worried call from a friend on Virginia's Eastern Shore about an attack on an innocent disabled girl. Working once again with Sheriff Sailor and Deputy Nelia Tyler, Drayco discovers almost everyone believes the girl's attack was an accident. But he begins to suspect otherwise when he crosses paths with a badly disfigured man and the man's enigmatic Goth son, as well as one of the smoothest and most dangerous figures Drayco has encountered in his career. Meanwhile, his conflicted feelings toward the soon-to-be-divorced town councilman's wife, Darcie Squier, continue to simmer under the surface and threaten to undermine his focus and cloud his judgement. But he's well aware he needs to keep his faculties razor-sharp if he's to solve the riddle of whether the cases in D.C. and the Eastern Shore are linked - or is he dealing with not one monster, but two? Praise for BV Lawson's Scott Drayco Mystery/Thriller Series: "Worth putting on your reading list." - The Library Journal "Lawson's protagonist is greatly compelling." - Publishers Weekly Booklife Prize "Lawson uses the gothic features of the abandoned Opera House to great effect, creating an atmospheric background for the crimes and the solving of them, all of it accompanied with music that's almost like another character. The pace never sagged and it kept me enthralled." - Long and Short Reviews "Lawson's book was so good, I read it twice from beginning to end...The citizens of Cape Unity are as diverse and multi-layered as any person living in the large cities, and Lawson portrayed them splendidly." - Reader's Favorite Reviews "The storyline here is nicely structured, and creatively ties together two murder mysteries, which occurred decades apart. The small town setting is ideal, the lead character engaging, and the supporting cast interesting and diverse. Overall, a solid start to this series." - Omnimystery News "A nice tight mystery in a realistic setting. Totally enjoyable." - Terrie Farley Moran, national bestselling author of the Read 'Em and Eat Mystery Series For readers who enjoy brainy private detectives, thrillers, traditional mysteries, and police procedurals.

Can a piece of music be cursed? A song linked to suicides is found with a victim's body, but was it really suicide-or a cleverly disguised murder? After a series of puzzling incidents, and crime consultant Scott Drayco himself starts suffering from depression himself after playing the sonata, can he really be sure of what's real and what's imagined?

A mysterious music puzzle. A murdered co-ed. Sinister secrets. Three years ago, Scott Drayco left the FBI after an incident involving his partner, Mark "Sarg" Sargosian. Now a freelance crime consultant, Drayco often helps law enforcement on cases, but he never imagined his estranged former partner would turn up on his doorstep, pleading for Drayco's help. A co-ed at an elite Washington, D.C., private college has been murdered, and the victim's friend—Sarg's own daughter Tara—might be the next target. The killer left behind a puzzling music code at the crime scene, and Drayco soon learns he has two things in common with the murdered girl - a music background and synesthesia. The case takes an even stranger turn after a second murder and a second music code, with signs pointing toward a possible ritualistic killing. Then, Drayco himself starts receiving coded messages . . . Praise for BV Lawson's Scott Drayco Mystery/Thriller Series: "Worth putting on your reading list." - The Library Journal "Lawson's protagonist is greatly compelling." - Publishers Weekly Booklife Prize "Lawson uses the gothic features of the abandoned Opera House to great effect, creating an atmospheric background for the crimes and the solving of them, all of it accompanied with music that's almost like another character. The pace never sagged and it kept me enthralled." - Long and Short Reviews "Lawson's book was so good, I read it twice from beginning to end...The citizens of Cape Unity are as diverse and multi-layered as any person living in the large cities, and Lawson portrayed them splendidly." - Reader's Favorite Reviews "The storyline here is nicely structured, and creatively ties together two murder mysteries, which occurred decades apart. The small town setting is ideal, the lead character engaging, and the supporting cast interesting and diverse. Overall, a solid start to this series." - Omnimystery News "A nice tight mystery in a realistic setting. Totally enjoyable." - Terrie Farley Moran, national bestselling author of the Read 'Em and Eat Mystery Series Keywords: brainy detectives, thrillers, traditional mysteries, crime thrillers, murder, mystery series, private investigator, detective books, crime series, thriller series, crime thriller series, vigilante justice, detective series, private investigator series, PI series, private eye series, crime authors, thriller authors, psychological thrillers

Crime consultant Scott Drayco is in the middle of a thorny case in Washington, D.C., involving murder victims who were all wheelchair-bound. Then, out of the blue, he gets a worried call from a friend on Virginia's Eastern Shore about an attack on a disabled girl. Working once again with Sheriff Sailor and Deputy Nelia Tyler, Drayco discovers almost everyone believes the girl's attack was an accident. But he begins to suspect otherwise when he crosses paths with a badly disfigured man and the man's enigmatic Goth son, as well as one of the smoothest and most dangerous figures Drayco has encountered in his career. Meanwhile, his conflicted feelings toward the soon-to-be divorced town councilman's wife, Darcie Squier, continue to simmer under the surface. His unsettled relationship with Darcie threatens to undermine his focus and cloud his judgment. And he's well aware he needs to keep his faculties razor-sharp if he's to solve the question of whether the two cases in D.C. and the Eastern Shore are linked-or is he dealing with not one monster, but two?