Indirect Objects: A Joe Lehrer Mystery

Indirect Objects is a clever suburban mystery/thriller. Joe Lehrer dispenses vigilante justice with the ethical center of Harlan Coben’s PI, Myron Bolitar. Lexan Warner’s nightmare-like childhood reminds readers of an amateur sleuth version of the heroine in Melinda Leigh’s Cross Her Heart. Lehrer and Warner’s lives appear as perfect as suburban Stradford where they teach. He is hailed a hero for bringing justice to a child abuse conspiracy cover-up. She has finally found security in a man who loves her. But revenge and the violent opioid crisis overwhelm the community and force them to question who they are, and who they are together. Corrupt local politicians believe Joe is neither a vigilante hero nor the Avenging Angel. As he struggles to live with his blackmail power, they force him to struggle for his very life. Lexan’s battle is with the drug cartel and within herself; while saving her students, she must decide whether love is worth revealing the dark secrets of her past.