Ex-bookie Tom Spears, framed for the murder of his wife, breaks out of prison and heads for Mexico and freedom. En route, he learns that the lawyer (and friend) who defended him has been murdered. He also discovers that his beloved wife had been unfaithful, that his lawyer friend had been one of her lovers, and that his defense had been deliberately botched. Resolving to unravel the mystery, Spears becomes entangled with his former associates and finds himself caught up in the crossfire between rival gambling syndicates.

The day of the race, everyone hits the ground running until a local business owner stumbles over a very stationary body. The deceased is the vicious wife of the husband and wife team hired to promote the event and the husband turns to Jill for help in clearing his name. But did he do it? Jill will have to be very careful, because this killer is ready to put her out of the running forever!

The quick meet the dead during a small-town California charity race in this cozy mystery by the New York Timesbestselling author. As the owner of South Cove, California’s most beloved bookstore café, Jill Gardner is more known for her sit-down-and-read than her get-up-and-go. Yet she’s been talked into sponsoring a 5k charity race along the beautiful California coast. Jill is happy to hit the ground running in support of the local preservation society—until a fellow runner stumbles over a very stationary body. The deceased is the wife of the husband-and-wife team hired to promote the event. And while her rudeness didn’t win her any friends in South Cove, it’s her own husband who comes in first on the suspect list. When he turns to Jill for help in clearing his name, she can’t resist tracing the steps of a swift and sinister killer. But she needs to act fast before she winds up crossing a permanent finished line. This eBook edition includes a bonus teaser chapter!

A portrait of a woman who spent more than ten years fighting for her freedom tells how she was wrongly convicted for the murder of her husband's ex-wife