Sometimes an orange bucket tangled in brush by a river is nothing more than an eyesore, but sometimes, as John Abel discovers, it can be evidence of murder. So begins this John Abel mystery. In its review of Cain’s Stumbling Down the Road of Revenge, KIRKUS REVIEW stated “Another suspenseful and surprising legal thriller in a consistently entertaining series.” This book contains many of characters from pervious books such as Laconia Jones, Abel’s good friend, Abel’s wife, Billie, and as some of Abel’s advisories such as the Psychologist, Ian Franklin, who for a fee always provides a desired opinion and Detective Steve McCoy who never saw a prosecution that some planted evidence might make better. McCoy now the head of the Harbor City Police homicide unit assigns Becky Creeley, a protege of Laconia, to a multiple murder case in hopes that she will fail and is sent back to patrol duty. This is a story with mysteries within mysteries. Often the most important question is not who committed the crime but why did the person choose revenge rather than forgiveness. If you are looking for a cozy mystery with a touch of grit you should check this out. This is the twelfth John Able mystery. A review from Kirkus "This installment of Cain's John Abel Mystery series features a murder case involving child abuse, coverups, beheadings, and a plot for revenge. It seems a serial killer may be on the loose when lawyer John Abel stumbles upon an orange Home Depot bucket filled with concrete and a severed head. After notifying the police, Abel and officers Creely, McCoy, and Jones find evidence of a connection between the head and another murder case involving a decapitated body. The severed head and body don't belong to the same victim, so the police conclude that a much larger and more dangerous game is afoot ("What we can say is [the victims] were both sedated with a combination of drugs"). They soon learn the bigger picture includes child abuse, government coverups, corruption in the foster care system, and a religiously-motivated demand for repentance and atonement for sins. (As one character comments about her stance on the death penalty, "Life is precious if a person takes the joy of living from another they should pay for their sin with their life.") This is a fast-paced, compelling mystery driven by deft plotting—within the first few pages, readers are pulled into a vortex of lies after Abel discovers the orange bucket that "rode low in the water, indifferent to the current" on the same river where captured the killer in a prior murder case. Throughout the narrative, just enough is revealed about the connections between the characters to compel readers to learn more without revealing the murderer. However, the character of Franklin, a psychologist, causes confusion; he seems wishy-washy, and his involvement with the child abuse material feels muddled. Overall, though, this is an engaging read that works well both as a series entry and as a standalone story. A briskly paced, satisfying murder mystery." --KIRKUS Reviews