Valerie Wilcox

Celilo's Shadow Valerie Wilcox

"This book ticked all the boxes for me." -Nonstop Reader

"A well done and fast-paced mystery." -Cozy Cat Review

Guilt is a powerful force. No matter how much time has passed, it's always there, ready to punch you in the chest when you least expect it. All it takes is something ordinary--a glance, a particular food, or a melody on the radio--and regret strikes hard and fast. For Odessa Feldman, the trigger is a Pacific Northwest storm.

When the muddy bones of a murder victim buried over fifty years ago are discovered in the storm's aftermath, Odessa overcomes her long struggle with guilt to finally reveal the truth. But her overdue confession comes with a difficult price--reliving her role in the fateful summer of 1956 and worse, betraying the best friend she'd ever had.

Dessa and Ellie Matthews were both fourteen-years-old when they met that summer. Ellie's father was a foreman at the dam under construction on the Columbia River. At least that's what he said. But, like murder and the motives behind it, some things in life are rarely as they seem.