The Clouds Roll Away
Now available!Forensic geologist Raleigh Harmon returns to her hometown of Richmond, Virginia and discovers nothing is quite what it seems in this former Capital of the Confederacy...
Although her exemplary service in Seattle lifted her disciplinary transfer, Raleigh lands a hometown civil rights case riddled with problems that could get her sent away again. When she helps out a fellow cop, her life goes on the line, forcing her undercover in a sting operation. As Raleigh realizes the lines are crossing and double-crossing, her domestic life starts to unravel. Her mother's mental health cracks like ice, her closest friend grows cold, and her old boyfriend DeMott comes a-calling, hoping for more than chestnuts by an open fire.
While the city glows with Christmas lights and carols, Raleigh is forced to rely on her sharpest skills to stay alive, hoping for that one clear moment when everything makes sense and the clouds roll away.
"Beautifully written with exquisite descriptions, Giorello's mystery also features well-developed characters..."
—Booklist, starred review
"The clever plot twists will have readers riveted from the start. Tough, edgy Raleigh Harmon and the city of Richmond are beauties with endearing qualities that are hard to resist. Fans of Sue Grafton and Tim Downs should add Giorello to their favorites list."
—Romantic Times, 4.5 stars
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Words from Sibella
People often ask how I got involved with writing and forensic geology. Like most writers, I can't answer with one sentence. Or ten.
I'm a fourth-generation Alaskan and spent my early years among mountains. Dusky winter mornings we walked to school, even at 20-below-zero, but I don't remember the cold. I remember the scenery. Fierce angles of glaciated mountains. Shifting hues of December snow. The brisk scent of ice. And in summer: wildflowers and endless daylight.
I left Alaska for Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts and majored in geology, hoping to figure out Alaska's landscape. Mostly I figured out that I'm a lousy scientist. After college, I worked on a tobacco farm, tended bar, and took odd jobs to make ends meet. In a moment of youthful folly, I sold my car, bought a motorcycle and rode from Massachusetts to Los Angeles, all the while wondering whether my mother was right about signing up for secretarial school.
Somewhere in East Texas, as the kickstand went down, I realized my favorite thing in any small town was the local newspaper. I hungered for the stories and pictures. That's when a light bulb went off—or maybe a flashlight in a leaky pup tent—but I knew. Motoring on to Seattle, I started writing for a hip rock-n-roll magazine (the only place that would hire a geologist who wanted to be a reporter). After getting a journalism degree from the University of Washington, I headed for the South, land of the great stories.
In Virginia, I wrote features for the Richmond News Leader (may it rest in peace) and later the Times-Dispatch (on life support but still breathing). A complete salmon-out-of-water, I adored that city and its many gracious inhabitants. Richmond was where I learned to write. Richmond was where I met my hunk-of-Italy husband, Joe. Richmond was where I listened as Jesus Christ whispered my name—at a tent revival, no less.
And it's where I found Raleigh Harmon.
In the late 1990s I left newspapers to stay home with my young sons. Much as I enjoyed being home—and I loved it—I wondered if my mind was turning into that bowl full of mush from "Goodnight Moon." To keep some synapses firing, I wrote while the kids napped. Soon enough, this very cool young woman appeared on the page. Her name was Raleigh Harmon. Forensic geologist and FBI agent. Richmond native. From the start, she seemed like a new best friend. Raleigh talked; I took notes.
Today, Raleigh's adventures are rolling along. The Stones Cry Out appeared in 2007 and won a Christy Award for best first novel. The Rivers Run Dry came out in 2009 to great reviews and The Clouds Roll Away will be available in March, 2010, followed by The Mountains Bow Down in 2011. Still more to come after that.
I hope you're enjoying this series with the redoubtable Raleigh Harmon. Over the years, I've come to appreciate many things about her. She knows life can be seen only "through a glass darkly." She shows perseverance through trials, building endurance. And she knows how much God loves each of us, unconditionally.
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