The Woman In Question

by Stephanie Patterson, Layne Lakefish (Editor), Ashley Girres (Illustrator)

Readers Respond to "The Woman In Question"
"If you are a fan of Melinda Leigh then you will love this. Fantastic story from the first sentence to the last."
"Couldn't put it down, until I was hauled off to the hospital for surgery!"
"Excellent book and a story well told. I’m looking forward to more...."

What would you give to correct a mistake that set a killer free?

Prominent business tycoon, Ian Parish, is discovered brutally murdered with his young and unfaithful wife standing over his body. Deputy District Attorney, Drake Franklin lands the opportunity of a lifetime when he's assigned the prosecution of Kerri Parish. A guilty verdict should be a slam dunk and will land him several steps closer to his dreams of a political future. When the unthinkable happens though, and the killer walks, Drake is left to rebuild a life out of the ashes of his career.

His failure that day in a Florida courtroom continues to haunt him and years later he jumps at the chance to track down Ian's former wife and extract some private justice on behalf of himself and the Parish family. The more Drake learns, however, the more questions he uncovers. The callous young woman he remembers from that long-ago trial has changed. Now she's smarter, quicker and very, very desperate. And if Drake comes up with the wrong answers, he'll end up dead.

Genres: Romantic Suspense

302 pages, ebook

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

I began my writing career at age three by designing my own alphabet using symbols to represent words. Thankfully school got me back on track with mainstream communication and I've has been creating stories ever since. Words are magic to me and writing is my first love. I owe my beginnings in the romance field to the kindness of Katherine Falk and the vision of a new, up and coming publishing house she profiled in “Romantic Times Magazine.” My first romance, "Playing For Keeps," was published by Genesis Press under the pen name, Stephanie Salinas for their Tango 2 line. "The Woman in Question," a contemporary romantic thriller, was published under my own name a couple of years later. My current projects include a new historical romance series entitled, "Season of the Furies." The first book in the series, "A Terrible Beauty," was released March 4, 2016. Book 2 is scheduled for release in late Fall of 2016.

I live in northern Oregon in a town long the banks of the Columbia River. St. Helens is an interesting mix of both pioneer and nautical history. It’s a place steeped in tales of mystery and dark deeds like shanghaiing and murder. Our town has appeared on several ghost investigation shows and it was the filming location for Disney’s original “Halloween Town” and the first movie in the “Twilight” franchise. Every year we hold a month long festival commemorating the Disney film.
I’ve been a legal assistant for a criminal defense attorney for more than fifteen years, working all sorts of criminal cases from petty theft to capital murder and murder for hire. When I'm not writing I practice and teach the ancient divination art of cartomancy - a fancy way of saying I read tarot cards. Every Halloween I read cards at a local restaurant noted for its haunted history. As if that isn't weird enough, I'm also a belly dance hobbyist and perform at various festivals around the Pacific Northwest.
As I write this I’m deep into research for my next book in the “Season of the Furies” series.

EMAIL: stephaniepattersonwriter@yahoo.com

You can follow my FaceBook page dedicated to "Season of the Furies" at https://www.facebook.com/seasonofthef...

and my Pinterest Board for "A Terrible Beauty" at

https://www.pinterest.com/galhal2000/...

Reviews

[Merry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy this author and have read several of her historical romance/mystery novels and have rated them highly and I give "The Woman in Question" 3.5* This is an early book by the author that involves murder, child and domestic abuse. I enjoy the writing style of Patterson and it keeps my interest. What I did not care for was the multiple threads at the beginning (I just felt lost) even though they are woven together to make for a good story. Also, the subject matter of the bad deed was not to my interest, and I just thought the number of deaths over it were not in keeping with the theft. This is perhaps my failing but still I am the reader. Some good twists and turns but other twists fell flat for me. I wish this was a series as I think the characters would have been good to follow.

[Debra Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book.

I recently had the pleasure of reading Ms Patterson's historical novels, "A Terrible Beauty" and "Mrs. Lady". Both of those books were so outstanding that when I saw she had also written a contemporary romance thriller, I snatched it up for .99 cents. What a steal! This book was excellent and kept me thoroughly engaged until the very end. Well done Ms Patterson! I am anxiously awaiting your next endeavor be it contemporary or historical. I can't wait for another journey to begin!

[Jennifer Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I read from this autor and let me tell you that I loved it! Such a good book with great characters that keeps you obsessed with every page since the first one. the entire story is beautiful, Amazing job! definitely a must read!

[Kathryn Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I've read Stephanie's other novels and really enjoyed them. Rich charade and believable dialog. Hoping for a new novel soon.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good suspense, full of twists and turns!

I really enjoyed this read. It was fast paced and full of suspense with the perfect amount of romance. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

[Margerm, Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. Well written and well researched as always but her best work for me is still the Furies trilogy.

[Jo Notary]

281p What would you give to correct the worst mistake of your life - especially when that mistake let a killer go free?
Prominent Business tycoon, Ian Parish, is found brutally murdered and his young wife, Kerri, is arrested for the crime. Deputy District Attorney, Drake Franklin lands the opportunity of a lifetime when he's assigned prosecution of the Parish case. The guilty verdict should be a slam dunk, but the unthinkable happens and the killer walks. Franklin is left to rebuild a life from the ashes of his career. His failure that day in a Florida courtroom continues to haunt him and years later he jumps at the chance to track down Ian's former wife and extract some private justice on behalf of the Parish family.
The more Drake learns, however, the more questions he uncovers. The callous young woman he remembers from that long ago trial is all grown up. She's smart, quick and very, very desperate. And if Drake comes up with the wrong answers, he'll end up dead.