Rev. Vivian Roundhouse: Leader of the local Agios Delphi church, tracing its origins back to Anne Askew, of which Kymer Thompson was an elder and Thompson’s girlfriend was a member.
Suzanne Thao: Another member of Agios Delphi, she is involved with Roundhouse.
Annika Nakrivo: Thompson’s girlfriend; recent transfer to Kilbourn Tech, majoring in chemistry and working on the research project as an intern.
Eddie Taysatch: Thompson’s fellow grad student and peer on the cancer research project.
Zadie Michaels: Another intern working on the cancer research project at the Freshwater Sciences lab.
Cecilia Carter: An activist with the local Justice for Oceans group, who oppose the cancer research project for harvesting silver lampreys for their liver enzymes.
Douglas Rheinstaller: Head of the local Lake Shore Piscary Association, which opposes the cancer research project for encouraging the population of lampreys in Lake Michigan and its feeder rivers.
Nick LaSalle: An IT specialist at Kilbourn Tech, he sets up and maintains the lab computers.
Barlow Finnegan: Bernadette’s estranged husband and soon-to-be ex.
Sophie Finnegan: Bernadette’s twelve-year old daughter.
More by Paul Austin Ardoin
Murders of Substance
Ceremony
Everything’s Gone Green (coming soon)
Temptation (coming soon)
* * *
The Fenway Stevenson Mysteries
Book One: The Reluctant Coroner
Book Two: The Incumbent Coroner
Book Three: The Candidate Coroner
Book Four: The Upstaged Coroner
Book Five: The Courtroom Coroner
Book Six: The Watchful Coroner
Book Seven: The Accused Coroner
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Acknowledgments
Many thanks to my editors Max Christian Hansen, Melissa Crandall Greenberg, and Jess Reynolds; to my proofreader Lisa Lee; and to my cover designer Ziad Ezzat of Feral Creative. This book is much better because of you.
Thank you to all the early readers and reviewers. Special thanks to Beverly Ange, Dana Luco, Michelle Damiani, Siobhan Ordorica, and the Wordforge Novelists group in Sacramento, whose critical eyes and tough love were invaluable. Thanks also to Dr. Christina Bellinger, Devin McCrate, and IshKiia Paige. I also appreciate Robb Moore and Robyn Sarty taking the time to provide invaluable airplane and small-airport details.
Special thanks to Cheryl Shoults, who has been invaluable creating, organizing, and maintaining my author newsletter, website, reader teams, promotions, and a million other items.
To my wife, my children, and my mother: I’m deeply grateful for your encouragement and support.
Author’s Note
I worked for a company headquartered in Milwaukee for several years, and I fell in love with the city, even (especially?) in the winter. Although this is a work of fiction, many elements are based in the history and geography of Milwaukee.
While there is no Anne Askew Chapel and no Kilbourn Tech University, there is a fifteenth-century church—the St. Joan of Arc Chapel—that was transported stone by stone to Milwaukee from France. Today, it’s situated on the Marquette University campus (and there is a stone in the wall that’s colder than everything around it, too). Anne Askew was a real Protestant martyr during the reign of Henry VIII, and the chants used in the anchor ceremony are taken directly from her writings.
Likewise, Milwaukee houses one of the top freshwater science labs in the world. It’s part of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.
Sea lampreys are an invasive species that almost killed the fishing industry in the Great Lakes, and TFM is the real lampricide that has kept the problem at bay for the last seventy years.
Spotted Cow is a real (and delicious) beer that is illegal to distribute outside Wisconsin.
For background on these items and other details of my research, check out my blog at www.paulaustinardoin.com.
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