Embrace a world where murder, dance and family secrets collide in Book One of the Jade Riley mystery series.
In this heart-pounding novel, debut author Andrea Barton weaves a gripping story of danger, loyalty and betrayal, leaving readers on the edge of their seats till the very end.
Meet Jade Riley, a strong-willed rookie journalist from Melbourne who flees Australia to seek refuge from haunting memories. Working for a local newspaper in Houston, Jade’s determined to write a career-defining article, but the mundane ‘school fair’ stories she’s being assigned aren’t going to win her a Pulitzer Prize anytime soon. When she’s not rearranging words on her screen, Jade tangos the day away with her passion for ballroom dancing.
But her routine takes a chilling turn when she finds out her dance instructor Anton’s fiancée was murdered in cold blood. Resolute in solving the mystery, Jade starts digging into the dark past of the Valencio family and becomes entangled in a web of intrigue.
As Jade’s investigation dives closer to the truth, the Valencio’s, with their maxim, ‘Loyalty to family no matter what’, face a serious threat, jeopardizing long held family secrets that could see Jade making headline news herself!
Will she solve the mystery, or will she become the next victim?
About The Author
Andrea Barton, author and fiction editor, runs the book editing company Brightside Story Studio. Her writing credits include The Winding Narrative blog, several short stories, two picture books and nine stage productions about contemporary social issues. She has also co-authored/edited two anthologies about expatriate life. The Godfather of Dance is her first novel.
An electrical engineer turned career consultant, Andrea spent 12 years enjoying the exhilaration and dislocation of life as an expat in Nigeria, USA and Qatar with her husband and two children. Along the way, she developed a passion for ballroom and Latin dance, helped to build a school, got bogged in both the Qatari and Australian deserts, and had an accidental hallucinogenic experience in Peru. She has now returned to Australia, where she commutes between Melbourne and Mansfield.
