Grace, Jason Lynx's girlfriend is a policewoman. Moonlighting as security inside an abortion clinic she accidentally witnesses the murder of an old woman, Simonetta. However, as they look further into the case they begin to realise that Simonetta's death may have nothing to do with the clinic and seems to relate to an old secret linking two of Denver's top families and brings them into the world of the Denver mob.

The story that follows is one of love and family responsibility resulting in answers to questions that have plagued Jason for many years.

The A.J. Orde/Jason Lynx stories are great fun. They follow the experiences of antiques dealer Jason Lynx and his policewoman girlfriend as they are dragged into mystery after mystery about which, inevitably, they are the only people to discover the truth. What is also a nice touch is that Orde allows the relationship between Jason and Grace to develop. Other writers would ignore this peripheral detail to concentrate on the main story but I do like to see this aspect of the story moving on as it gives an additional dimension to the books.

For me these books have another added advantage. A.J. Orde is a pen name used by Sheri S. Tepper who is one of my favourite authors and it is always nice to read something written in a different style by someone you admire. These books do have quite a traditional style compared to some of her other work but rather than making the stories feel old fashioned it actually gives them a comfortable familiar feeling making them extremely readable and very enjoyable.