Alright you guys, today is the day.

My mystery novel, All Good People Here, is Out.

And to celebrate, I wanted to read you the first chapter.

1.

Chrissy, 1994.

The residents of Wakirusa, Indiana, could spin gossip faster than a spider spins its web.

But Shime One of Their Own did something they shouldn't, when Abby Schmuckers got caught

shoplifting lipstick from the dime store.

When the Becker Kid dropped out of the 4-H volunteer club.

When Jonas Schneider fell asleep and snored in church.

The Wakirusa gossip chain would flap their jaws, chewing the tidbit over so thoroughly

that by the time they'd finally spat it out again, the truth was mishappened and unrecognizable,

warped into the story.

And because the people of Wakirusa were church-going, law-abiding, capital G, God-fearing people, the

story was always adorned with pearls of sweetness to coated sharp edges.

Bless her heart, but I'll be praying for them because did you hear?

Lord have mercy on their souls.

Even before everything happened, Chrissy Jacobs had understood the power of Wakirusa's

rumor mill.

Which is why she so stringently avoided its teeth.

She went to church every Sunday, she dressed her daughter in pink and her son in blue,

she wore the right shoes and made sure her husband had the right ties.

...