"A gripping crime thriller wrapped around an ingenious premise." --Jonathan Payne, award-winning author of Citizen Orlov "Devilishly entertaining, Lew's book masterfully illuminates the ever-present capacity to manipulate, avenge, even murder, residing in each one of us." --Bruce Robert Coffin, award-winning author of the Detective Byron Mysteries At the center of the novel is a private investigator named Archie Lightman. Archie and his partner Delia Sanchez stumble upon a pattern of killings in which the victims are all criminals who---in an age of rampant plea bargaining---are often too lightly punished for their crimes. The investigation leads them to a support group modeled along the lines of a traditional 12-step program called COSOVO, Circle of Survivors of Violent Offenses. Its members the surviving kin of murdered loved ones. Roger Witt is one of the members of the group, his life utterly ruined . . . first by a wanton criminal act that takes the life of a loved one, and later by an ineffectual justice system. He is thus doubly afflicted with derangements that follow in the wake of terrible losses. And he becomes vulnerable to Candace Morgan, the charismatic leader of COSOVO, who gradually grooms certain members to become murderers themselves, offering them the supposed healing balm of a vengeful 13th step. Meanwhile, Archie is experiencing his own thoughts of revenge. He recently received an anonymous letter that rekindles unresolved questions about the circumstances of his mother’s death decades earlier. Was it suicide, was it homicide? All Archie knows is it wasn’t an accident. Will he succumb to the lure of the 13th Step? This work of literary crime fiction explores how unrelenting grief can drive us to do things we never thought imaginable. "A gripping crime thriller wrapped around an ingenious premise." -Jonathan Payne, award-winning author of Citizen Orlov "Devilishly entertaining, Lew's book masterfully illuminates the ever-present capacity to manipulate, avenge, even murder, residing in each one of us." -Bruce Robert Coffin, award-winning author of the Detective Byron Mysteries "Fiendishly plotted, a deep dive into our need for balance in an uneven world. A gripping, dark tale of what lives in all of us." -James L'Etoile, award-winning author of Face of Greed "Lew is a helluva writer. I love clever writing especially when it doesn't get in the way of story flow, which is precisely the case here. You read this book and you instantly recognize an author who just love words. Loves and respects them." --Carter Wilson, USA Today Bestselling Author and Host of Making It Up This work of literary crime fiction tells the story of a support group for the surviving kin of murdered loved ones. Modeled along the lines of traditional 12-step programs, this group leads "stuck" members on to a secret 13th step. Roger Witt is one of the members of the group, his life utterly ruined . . . first by a wanton criminal act that takes the life of his brother, and later by an ineffecutal justice system. He is thus doubly afflicted with derangements that follow in the wake of terrible losses. And he becomes vulnerable to Candace Morgan, the charismatic leader of the group who gradually grooms certain members to become murderers themselves, offering them the supposed healing balm of the vengeful 13th step.