Hiding in Plain Sight

About the Book

Imagine for a moment that you're a college professor in Portland, Maine. You've just buried your father, whose sudden death has rocked his family and friends alike, as he was in seemingly perfect health. And now you've inherited the family home, located in the idyllic small town of Timber Falls, Maine, where everyone knows everyone and neighbors still look out for one another. It is a place where strangers are noticed and violent crime does not exist.

At about the same time, you are approached by a representative of a development group interested in buying the house and the land, an extensive tract of wooden property with river access. But the owner of the company cannot guarantee that the house will not be destroyed. Knowing that your father put his heart into restoring the home—a Victorian beauty that has been in your family since the 30's—you refuse to sell.

But now people are dying on your property. People you've known your whole life. People you love.

What do you do?

If you're Emma DuValle, you fight. Together with the help of the authorities, she does just that. And along the way, she discovers something that she thought she had lost. Strength...determination...and the will to put the pieces of her life back together and carry on.

Emma is helped and hindered along the way by a diverse cast of characters. There is the Russian crime boss in Chicago who wants her land, the agent he employs to get it, and the cold-blooded killer hired to drive her from her home. And there is the local sheriff and the FBI agent who will stop at nothing to uncover the killer and prevent further loss of life. In the end, no one expects what they will find—that the person they’re looking for is right under their noses…hiding in plain sight.

About the Author

Christine Janis was born and raised in northern Illinois. In 1994, she received her Bachelor’s degree in English Education from Northern Illinois University. She did not teach, however, taking a position as a proofreader and copywriter for a Retail Advertising agency in downtown Chicago. But in early 2000, she returned to NIU, where she is currently working toward a Master’s degree in Criminology. She and her husband, Steven, live outside of Chicago.