Payback

One Sharp PI, One Clever Dog, and One Twisted Mystery

Advance Reader Copy

Genres

Dog Mystery, Private Eye, Women Sleuths, Crime Thriller, Crime Mystery, and Novels

Trigger Warnings

Profanity, Death, and Violence

Type of Ending

Series

A Laney Wright PI Mystery — Book 1

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads, BookBub, or Barnes & Noble

Reader Spots Remaining

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Nov 12, 2026

Page Length

306 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

Payback

One Sharp PI, One Clever Dog, and One Twisted Mystery

Advance Reader Copy

Blurb

Three women. One dead man. Some secrets are worth killing for.

Private investigator Laney Wright thought she'd seen it all—until Amelia Morgan walks into her life with a terrifying stalker case. Someone is leaving dead animals on Amelia's doorstep, vandalizing her property, and making threatening phone calls that promise revenge. But as Laney digs deeper, she discovers Amelia's recently deceased boyfriend was a married man with more secrets than anyone suspected.

When Laney begins to connect the dots between Amelia, the dead man's widow, and another woman from his past, the simple stalking case transforms into something far more sinister. With her loyal dog Elliott by her side, Laney must untangle a web of lies, betrayal, and deadly obsession before she becomes the next target. In a case built on lies, trust is the deadliest weapon.

Details

Genres

Dog Mystery, Private Eye, Women Sleuths, Crime Thriller, Crime Mystery, and Novels

Trigger Warnings

Profanity, Death, and Violence

Type of Ending

Series

A Laney Wright PI Mystery — Book 1

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads, BookBub, or Barnes & Noble

Reader Spots Remaining

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Nov 12, 2026

Page Length

306 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

Author

Christy Cooper-Burnett is an award-winning author based in southern California with a degree in Administration of Justice. She has one grown son who inspired her to write her award-winning debut novel, No Way Home.

She enjoys creating relatable stories and characters that encourage readers to imagine what they would do if thrown into the same unique situations as her strong female protagonists. Christy's novels have received numerous awards.

Christy comes from a long line of police officers and worked in crime prevention early in her career. When she’s not writing, she’s been known to binge watch series in a single weekend, throw dinner parties, and will travel anywhere at a moment’s notice as long as her rescue dog Beau can tag along.

Publisher

Black Rose Writing