A Geologist Lies Comatose in a Portland, Maine Hospital in A World of Deceit, a Detective Joe Burgess Thriller by Kate Flora --Portland, Maine-- Unable to awaken her father--eminent geologist, Ted Gabbro--nine-year-old Arielle approaches the vacationing Joe Burgess, desperate for his help. Loathe to let anything interfere with his much needed rest on the mountains of western Maine, Joe can't ignore the girl's plea for help and can't deny that something is very wrong. As the frightened girl's father languishes in a coma and her mother can't be found, Burgess finds himself in a tangle of land disputes, family politics, the child's parents' nasty divorce, and the powerful greed that accompanies "gold fever". Winner of the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction "Flora pours on the intensity in this criminal, legal and moral maze."~Kirkus Reviews "Flora writes cops so convincingly it's hard to imagine she's never worn the badge herself." ~Bruce Robert Coffin, author of Among the Shadows THE JOE BURGESS MYSTERIES Playing God The Angel of Knowlton Park Redemption And Grant You Peace Led Astray A Child Shall Lead Them A World of Deceit

On an icy February night, the body of Steven Pleasant, a prominent Portland, Maine physician, grows cold in his parked Mercedes. All signs point to a john killed by a disgruntled hooker: his pants are unzipped, wallet is gone, and the good doctor has a reputation for entertaining girls in his car.
But the deeper Detective Sergeant Joe Burgess digs, the muddier the case becomes. While juggling hookers, wives, ex-wives, fathers, stepfathers, dealers and doctors, a nurse on Pleasant's staff suggests another angle-disgruntled patients.
Now, ensconced in the darkness of a sleeping hospital, Burgess comes face-to-face with ghosts from his past and must decide what being a detective really means.
REVIEWS:
"Dazzling debut police procedural." Publisher's Weekly Starred Review
"A triumph in the police procedural genre. Highly recommended." Library Journal Starred Review
"I loved this book. I recommend it to anyone who loves police procedurals, traditional mysteries, suspense." Crimespree Magazine
THE JOE BURGESS MYSTERIES, in series order
Playing God
The Angel of Knowlton Park
Redemption
ABOUT KATE FLORA
Kate Flora developed her fascination with people's criminal tendencies as a lawyer in the Maine attorney general's office. When Kate isn't writing, or teaching writing at Grub Street in Boston, she can be found in her garden, waging battle against critters, pests, and her husband's lawnmower.

Portland, Maine, homicide detective Joe Burgess needs a vacation. But there's a dead child in Knowlton Park.
Rolling up on the scene with a canoe on the roof and fishing poles flapping, Burgess finds little Timmy Watts, viciously stabbed, and carefully wrapped in a new blue blanket.
Timmy's parents are life-long crooks, his brothers deal drugs and his sister turns tricks. The only one who seems to care is Timmy's hearing-impaired sister, Iris. But she's keeping her secrets.
Then Iris disappears, and Burgess is battling against time to keep more children from dying.
REVIEWS:
"Flora's thought-provoking second police-procedural marks her as one of the best in the genre." Library Journal Starred Review
"A thing of beauty... insights are woven deep... characters, scenes and dialogue boost this story to excellence " The Portland Press Herald
THE JOE BURGESS MYSTERIES, in series order
Playing God
The Angel of Knowlton Park
Redemption
ABOUT KATE FLORA
Kate Flora developed her fascination with people's criminal tendencies as a lawyer in the Maine attorney general's office. When Kate isn't writing, or teaching writing at Grub Street in Boston, she can be found in her garden, waging battle against critters, pests, and her husband's lawnmower.