I am not always on Planet Earth. So to find myself typing an earthbound murder mystery was a bit of a shock. In fact, the shock was so great that, but for the support and feedback of people who had more faith in my writing than I did, this book would never have seen the light of day. Especial thanks to Rachel Whipple, ex-police chief and avid consumer of mysteries, and Claire Marmion, relentless seeker of good things, for assuring me that I had written something worth the reader’s time; to my friend, Shelly Geppert, for her unstinting support; to my agent, the esteemed Brady McReynolds, his assistant, James Farner, and all at JABberwocky Literary for not laughing in my face when I told them what I was up to; to my editor, Carl Smith, plus the fine folks at Severn House, particularly Anna Harrisson and Sara Porter, for taking this on and making it better; and last, but not least, to my family: Barbara, Alex, Amina, Alima, Tom, Nadia, Max, Elliot, Henry, Becky, Harriet, Angus, Corey and freshly-printed Margot, whose cheers from the sidelines kept me going when it would have been so much easier to stop.