A Distant Disturbance

 

Ellen Delgato never expected her encounter with dishy historian Martin Butler to continue after the Colonial Studies conference where they met, so when he invites her to visit him in New Zealand, she's surprised, and wary. Think of it as a time-out, he says, an escape from the bone-chilling Canadian winter and a chance to think about a career change from what he sees as her dead-end library job.
 

Ellen is dazzled by the small, perfect country about as far away as it's possible to go. It feels exotic, yet civilized and safe, despite an unusual murder in Martin’s neighbourhood just before she arrives. She explores the South Island’s soaring mountains and pristine beaches and makes friends with the neighbours. When one of them enlists her aid in investigating the shady past of a powerful businessman, Ellen happily contributes her research skills, disregarding Martin’s advice to steer clear. Her discoveries provoke a rash of accidents and break-ins, and she begins to understand that in this small place, little goes unnoticed. When a butterfly from one end of the world flutters its wings, it can cause a hurricane at the other. It’s time to go home, but distance doesn’t resolve the troubles she has helped stir up. Passions, she discovers, can cross hemispheres with ease.

A Distant Disturbance
Woodpecker Lane Press
 

Available on Amazon
$7.97 Kindle ebook
ASIN B08KTV6WZJ