Mystery 101: Dead Talk

Crime fiction specialist Amy Winslow, the Chair of the Literature Department at Elmstead College in Garrison, Washington, is in Seattle with her father Graham Winslow, Professor Emeritus and novelist of the successful Atticus Keller crime series, as she has been asked to give a presentation at a Teachable Talks (T2) conference by Tim Bishop, the founder of T2. Garrison PD Detective Travis Burke becomes quietly agitated in this situation when he learns that Tim is Amy's ex-boyfriend, that discomfort due to his and Amy's own sexual tension. As such, Travis decides to attend the conference himself, finagling an invitation from Graham, who didn't much like Tim. Amy has a difficult enough time trying to maneuver her and Tim's personal history with this professional situation, it made all the more difficult in encountering another speaker, tech giant Mitchell McHale - bigger-than-life, at least in his and his entourage's own estimation, that entourage including his wife Alexis McHale and the tech company COO Billy Poole - who will be presenting on his new software SLOOTH, which is meant not to assist in but rather solve crimes, replacing humans in this work, humans such as police detectives. Possible investors, like venture capitalist Vicky Lin, are also at the conference to check out McHale's presentation. The course of the conference changes when one within this collective is found dead having fallen off the roof of the venue where the conference is taking place. While it was meant to look like suicide, the authorities have to investigate the likely possibility of murder. It is Amy's turn to be quietly agitated when the SPD detective leading the case is Lt. Rachel Knox, who not only attended the police academy with Travis, but the two who once dated. In believing it indeed murder, Travis and Amy can't help but investigate - all the others in the collective prime suspects for one reason or another - they needing to tread lightly with Rachel in not stepping on her toes in it being her investigation in her jurisdiction. They may find that it is another active murder case within the SPD, that case led by a less than enthusiastic Detective Denny Roma, that provides another key piece to the puzzle.