A Flash of Shadow (Dogleg Island Mystery)
Cozy Animal Mystery/Police Procedural
7th in Series
Setting – Dogleg Island, Florida
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Blue Merle Publishing
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 25, 2025

Synopsis

The Hunter Comes to Dogleg Island

A notorious serial killer, come home to die. A young woman found hanging from a tree. A missing billionaire. In the quiet coastal community of Dogleg Island, nothing is as it should be. And for Police Chief Aggie Malone and her extraordinarily perceptive canine assistant Flash, time is running out.

When Acting Sheriff Ryan Grady apprehends a suspect attempting to rob his father’s bait shop, he has no idea that the man he has taken into custody will eventually confess to over one hundred murders… nor is he particularly interested in the notoriety a high-profile criminal like Patrick Henry Jessup brings to his home town. Absorbed in the anticipation of his impending fatherhood and forced to take on a job he did not seek, Grady wants nothing more than to be rid of Jessup and all he represents.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Investigator Jim Clark is anxious to take over the case, hoping to gain clarity into the shadows of his own past. But as the interviews with Jessup unfold both Grady and Clark find themselves reluctantly drawn into the world of the hunter, and are shaken to find they have more in common with him than they ever would have believed.

On Dogleg Island, Police Chief Aggie Malone Grady, struggling to navigate the challenges of fast-approaching motherhood while training a new police officer, discovers a chilling connection between two apparently unrelated crimes. As Aggie, Flash and new recruit Saunders weave together the strands of a mystery that will lead them to a killer, they also find themselves navigating the shadows of the human soul… a terrain that proves more treacherous than they ever could have imagined.

A Flash of Shadow is a gripping tale of survival, loyalty, and redemption. Donna Ball masterfully weaves a story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, turning pages late into the night.

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About the Author

Donna Ball published her first book in 1982. Since that time she has written over eighty works of commercial fiction under pseudonyms that include Rebecca Flanders, Donna Carlisle, Leigh Bristol, Taylor Brady, and Donna Boyd. She is known for her work in women’s fiction and suspense, as well as supernatural fantasy and adventure. Her novels have been translated into well over a dozen languages and have been published in virtually every country in the world. She has appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and has been featured in such publications as the Detroit Free Press, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and even T.V. Guide. She is the holder of the Storytelling World award, 2001, the Georgia Author of the Year Award, 2000, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards for consecutive years 1991-1996, the Georgia Romance Writers’ Maggie Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times, among others.

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