Private investigator Sam Blackman and his partner (both business and personal) Nakayla Robertson were hired to follow history professor Janice Wainwright to see if her physical activities would belie her claim against a spinal surgeon for malpractice. When she makes a physically challenging climb up Glassy Mountain, the case seems over -- until Sam hears her yell "NO!" and finds her near unconsciousness and bleeding. Her final words are "It's the Sandberg verses. The Sandberg verses."

As the first person near the dying woman, Sam becomes the initial suspect. He must first convince the investigators that he had nothing to do with the professor's death. But then he becomes curious after the autopsy reveals painkillers in her system and proof of malpractice. Why would someone in obvious pain make that climb? Did she merely fall? Was she pushed and killed?

While all of this is being sorted out, the Wainwright farmhouse is broken into and the Sandberg volumes that Janice was researching are stolen. This convinces Sam and Nakayla that Janice's death was no accident. They soon meet Janice's daughter, Wendy, and after a variety of events, they promise her that they will figure out what happened to Janice. In order to do this, though, they have to figure out the connection between the professor and Carl Sandberg. During their investigation, another murder is committed, and Sam and Nakayla know that they must connect these dots quickly before more lives are taken.

This was a fun, well-written mystery. Although I was sure I knew who was behind the murder, I was never sure of the motive, and then it turned out that I was wrong about the culprit, anyway. Sam's character is thought-out and thorough, with a lot of flavor, from his prosthetic leg and military background to his interracial relationship with his business partner. Nakayla was also a great character with a fun sense of humor and she provides a great balance to Sam. And the ongoing subplot about Wendy's pregnant goat was priceless. This was a great book that was well-worth the read.

Book Summary

It was only routine. A simple assignment for private investigator Sam Blackman and his partner Nakayla Robertson. Follow a history professor who's suing a spinal surgeon for malpractice and catch her in physical activities that undercut her claim. When the professor, Janice Wainwright, visits Connemara, Carl Sandburg's home in Flat Rock, N.C., and climbs the arduous trail to the top of Glassy Mountain, Sam believes he has the evidence to wrap up the case-until he finds the woman semi conscious and bleeding on the mountain's granite outcropping. Her final words: "It's the Sandburg verses. The Sandburg verses." As the first person to discover the dying woman, Sam becomes the first suspect. Now the routine case is personal. An autopsy reveals painkillers in her blood and solid proof of the surgeon's errors. Sam is left with the haunting questions: why did this suffering woman endure the climb to the mountaintop, and did she stumble and fall or did someone cause her death? A break in at the Wainwright farmhouse and the theft of Sandburg volumes convince Sam someone is seeking information worth killing for. But what did Pulitzer Prize winner Sandburg have in his literary collection that leads to multiple murders? And who will be targeted next? Sam and Nakayla must navigate a convoluted trail of historical facts and mountain legends to arrive at the truth, a truth Carl Sandburg never knew he possessed, and a treasure to be had for a song.

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