No Worst, There Is None

2015 Arthur Ellis Award — Nominated, Best First Novel A terrible tragedy tears a family apart. In a serene city in the extravagant mid-eighties, the privileged Warne family is victimized when their talented and artistic eleven-year-old daughter Lizbett is sexually slain. How can any family endure such horror? In an intimate exploration of grief, the surviving family members struggle with their mourning. Hildy, a loving but abused Great Dane, also in need of healing, joins the family and becomes part of their journey back to normalcy. Meanwhile, the police search in vain for the murderer, Melvyn Searle, who is on his own journey, hiding in plain sight, feeling invincible, and hatching new plans as he draws closer to the family and stalks the Warnes’ younger daughter, Darcy. A work that challenges our reason, our emotions, and our spirit, No Worst, There Is None is a novel inspired by real-life events.