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Lance Hawvermale

Thriller, mystery, romance

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These Tears for Hire

  • Genre: Historical Mystery
  • Release: 2025
  • Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

In post-war Kansas City, Vivian Frisco is a law student by night and a switchboard operator by day, quietly navigating grief in the years since her husband’s death in World War II. But when a friend is brutally murdered and the police show little interest in solving the crime, Vivian is thrust into an unexpected role. Mistaken for a private investigator, she’s handed a thick envelope of cash and a plea for justice by the dead man’s grieving family.

Driven more by conscience than confidence, Vivian begins her own investigation into a city that’s eager to move on from the war, even as its wounds still bleed. With the reluctant help of a charming airman and her own sharp instincts, she untangles a web of indifference, prejudice, and secrets that threaten to keep her friend’s death forgotten. These Tears for Hire is a beautifully written noir mystery laced with wry humor and deep emotional resonance, following a woman who refuses to stay silent in the face of injustice.

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