Here’s the set-up Jacki Lyon’s The Marriage of Silence and Sin, just 2.99 on Kindle:

The Marriage of Silence and Sin won the SILVER MEDAL for the 2011 Independent Publisher Book Awards for the mystery/suspense/thriller category. If you like Jodi Picoult or Stieg Larsson, the book will grab you and run.

The plot-driven story takes the reader on an electric ride from the sleepy banks of the Ohio to Ciudad Juarez, unfolding a grisly mystery.

Dicey Carmichael, a quirky British literature professor, is faced with the alleged suicide of a friend and former student. Convinced the death was a tragedy much more sinister, Dicey draws her best friend, Gale Knightly, an uptight, fast-track lawyer, into the lethal web to help uncover the horrific truth.

Desperate to find answers, Dicey and Gale turn to the artwork the young woman left behind. Her provocative and disturbing paintings give voice to the tortured past she could not confess in life. But was her past so dark that she preferred death over life?

What if the young artist knew that someone she loved was in danger? Perhaps then she would speak out—even if it meant forfeiting her life at the hands of a killer. As Dicey and Gale dig deeper into the mystery of the girl’s death, they find disturbing connections within their own lives. As they seek to give voice to their dead friend, the women must first face their own fears and prejudices to finally uncover the murderer. Will the best friends untangle the tragedy before death strikes again, but this time much closer to home?

Draped in wit and irony, The Marriage of Silence and Sin is a riveting, cautionary tale that explores the intermingling of human experiences, choice and fate in molding the human condition.

From the reviewers:

“Many of the secrets revealed in The Marriage of Silence and Sin are dark indeed, yet Lyon never wallows in them nor uses them for gratuitous purposes. . . . The characters are vibrant, believable, and relevant to the contemporary world. . . . Lyon’s debut novel is well worth reading. She is a writer to watch for in the future.” –Janine Stinson, ForeWord Clarion Review.

Anne K. Mellor, Distinguished Professor of English, UCLA, read The Marriage of Silence and Sin with “great pleasure.”

“Spent the whole morning in bed reading your book! Could not put it down . . . LOVED IT!” — Julie Martina, Anderson Township

“Your book is riveting! I’ve written that ‘I’ve finished . . .  BUT, the story will remain with me for a long, long time! At the end . . . my heart rate/blood pressure was UP and RACING in the wee hours of the morning . . . . the story left me feeling every emotion humanly possible ! It made me sad, happy, laugh and scared to death!” — Mary Joe Karch, Cincinnati

The Marriage of Silence and Sin is a “can’t put down” novel filled with intrigue and suspense. The story starts at the funeral of a young girl who committed suicide. Her father, friends and boyfriend are all in attendance. The story then gets into the minds of these characters, ultimately ending with an interesting twist. Great read!  –  “Bam”

Visit Amazon’s Jackie M. Lyon Page

After beginning her career in the corporate world, she changed tack and entered academia. Today, she teaches writing and literary survey courses at Xavier University. Although The Marriage of Silence and Sin is her first novel, she is a published poet who views writing as “a passionate exploration seeking to uncover the internal and external factors that shape the human condition.”

She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband, Michael, and her two daughters, and is currently at work on her second manuscript.

And here, in the comfort of your own browser, is your free sample of THE MARRIAGE OF SILENCE AND SIN by Jacki Lyon: