Death in the Dunes

by Linda Hope Lee

On an assignment in Ocean City Washington, reporter Dana Merrill finds the subject of her interview, Superior Court Judge Robert Costain, shot to death in the sand dunes near his home.

While the crime scene investigation is underway, the judge's son, Adam Costain, arrives. An architect from Sacramento, Adam has been estranged from his father since his parents divorced twenty-five years ago. He recently received a letter from the judge requesting that he come to Ocean City to visit him. Despite their estrangement, he wants to know who murdered his father.

Despite the journalistic credo that warns against becoming personally involved with a source, Dana offers to help Adam investigate. Bad experiences with the press have left him distrustful of the media, and he refuses. However, when she produces a valuable clue that might lead to the murderer, the two enter into a tenuous partnership to solve the crime.

When someone begins stalking them, Adam and Dana are faced with one crisis after another. Their growing mutual attraction adds another dimension to their relationship. The spell-binding narrative ends in a powerful climax in which Adam and Dana learn just how much they mean to one another, as well as the shocking truth about Adam's father.

Published September 1, 1999