Total Immersion: An Academic Thriller

Doctor Rowena Halley was really hoping that a summer in California would help her heal from the previous semester’s injuries, mental and physical. Instead, it might throw her into the greatest danger she’s faced yet.

Spending the summer working in Monterey and living with her boyfriend Alex was supposed to prove to both of them that they were ready to take their relationship to the next level. But what it’s really shown is that they’re still clinging to old flames.

To make matters worse, their old flames have problems of their own. Problems that are refusing to stay in the past. Love is supposed to hit you like a bolt of lightning. But lightning is dangerous—and sometimes it strikes twice.

On her last weekend in California, Rowena gets sucked into a search for Alex’s missing ex-girlfriend. What should have been a few phone calls turns into a life-or-death confrontation—and Rowena may have to pay for other people’s past sins. As Rowena is about to discover, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned—but mother nature’s fury is even greater.

Combining mystery and action with a side of romance and a strong dose of humor and snark, Total Immersion will appeal to fans of Kinsey Millhone, Stephanie Plum, and Jeri Howard, or anyone who loves strong, smart heroines.

*Content warning: along with the kind of colorful language you’d expect from a collection of world-weary journalists and hardened Iraq vets, this story contains discussions of codependent relationships, intimate partner abuse, and the darkest side of the War on Terror. You’ve been warned.*