The Original Wife

Winner: 2021 Firebird Book Award for Contemporary NovelWinner: 2021 Firebird Book Award for Crime FictionWinner: 2021 Firebird Book Award for Romantic SuspenseWinner: 2021 Firebird Book Award for Women’s IssuesA thriller. A love story. A cruel twist of fate. Sometimes six-feet under isn’t enough to bury someone.Lanie Spenser endured a childhood of merry-go-round foster homes before suffering an abusive marriage to Dr. Stanley Greystone. After twenty years of suppression by her husband, she musters the courage to divorce and begin a new life. College, trauma counseling, and an exciting career strengthen Lanie into a confident and capable woman. Feeling empowered and restored, she begins a new relationship. Brock Burnham is everything that Stanley was not-kind, tender, and loving. Brock’s quest for adventure, sense of humor, and generous affection allow Lanie to feel hopeful about happy-ever-after’s for the first time in her life.On the very day she meets Brock, she attends Stanley’s funeral. Her ex-husband’s death injects a bevy of baby mamas and discarded children into Lanie’s world. As the original wife, she inherits the bulk of his estate as well as a string of clues to piece together the labyrinth of Stanley’s lurid activities. His death exposes a tangled web of indiscretions, damaged women, and unspeakable acts of cruelty.With every new grain of discovery, Stanley’s evil continues to reach from beyond the grave. Lanie’s life unravels as her past collides with her present and she uncovers the darkest of Stanley’s transgressions. Stanley’s pre-meditated attempts to implicate Lanie in his crimes takes one ugly turn after another and there seems to be no end to the depths of Stanley’s malevolence. Each twist of his manipulation plunges a blade deeper into her soul, not only threatening her cherished relationship with Brock, but also her mental stability.After Lanie is compelled to recall every moment of her traumatized marriage, she retreats to a reclusive existence. Desperately holding on to happy memories of being with Brock, she prays reflection and self-forgiveness will keep her from tumbling down a dark and bottomless rabbit hole of despair. She eventually emerges from her self-imposed solitude to reclaim what has been there all along-the sunshine she needs. Loving herself. Loving life. Loving Brock. She hopes it’s not too late.