Chalk Line

LaRocque has created a handful of appealing characters with detailed backstories to begin her series, and it's well worth getting in at the start. —Booklist

Absorbing … delivers a complicated, satisfying mystery tale. … Deftly avoids the easy, larger-than-life 'Texas' stereotypes that infect many detective novels set in the Lone Star State. … An engrossing, entertaining detective tale … —The Dallas Morning News

… There’s a whiff of Greek tragedy to Chalk Line’s narrative. Decisions made in crisis — big and small — can change the course of multiple lives.

… Chalk Line is a fast, smart read, a meaty morality tale with complicated characters and shades of gray. —Denton Record-Chronicle

'Chalk Line' is a page-turner, filled with all the stuff that makes a good mystery: a dead body; the nagging question of 'whodunit'; a cast of quirky but believable, three-dimensional characters; and a whole pile of clues. To LaRocque’s knowledge, no one has yet guessed the murderer.

But this is not just a simple murder mystery. Woven into the story are deeper themes. It explores contradictions and questions about alienation, trust, morality, law and justice and learning to see things in shades of gray, rather than black and white. Art references are sprinkled throughout. —Ellen Ritscher Sackett, for the Denton Record-Chronicle

Chalk Line is a fascinating whodunit that will keep readers busy changing their minds about the killer. ... A great read and this reviewer is looking forward to the next book in this series. —Mary Lignor, Feathered Quill Book Reviews

At once a spellbinding mystery and a serious work of fiction--one that plumbs the meaning of family and explores the wavering line between justice and the law. A stunning debut from a writer who is going places. —Bruce DeSilva, Edgar Award-winning author of "Rogue Island"

Make way for a big new talent in mystery fiction. Paula LaRocque writes like a dream, and her story’s twists and turns will keep you up at night, turning pages. When Ben Gallagher is on the case, readers are in for a great treat. —Doug J. Swanson, author of the Jack Flippo mystery series

Chief of Detectives Ben Gallagher thinks life will once again be rosy when his younger brother, Andrew, is released from prison. But, on the very day Andrew is set free, the brothers discover the body of a lifelong friend, and the murder launches Ben on a fast slide from his revered rule of law. He is soon ordered to stay away from the case, but the closer he gets, the surer he becomes that a family member is somehow implicated. Torn between loyalties, he embarks on a race that takes him thousands of miles and a couple of decades away, leading to a cold case in the north--and a killer no one would ever suspect.