GLENDORA, Texas, Sept. 5, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- All Val was looking for was a new life. What she stumbled into 1700 miles from home was a mystery wrapped in drugs and murder. The exciting new novel, Poison Roots (now available through 1stBooks), by Barbara J. Martin, follows a woman as she discovers the nursery where she works is not what it seems.
The book takes the readers down a dirt road amongst the ugly sagebrush of south Texas to a tree farm. Val, recently divorced, is looking to start a new life. An oddly placed magazine ad leads her to Glendora Farms, far from what she once new.
Val soon settles in. However, a series of accidental discoveries, from underground tunnels, unusual buildings and a helicopter pad to a slew of offbeat customers, colorful co-workers and the disappearance of dozens of young Mexican men, sets Val on a sleuthing adventure. Val befriends Jessie May, a new employee. Together they snoop and spy, turning over and digging up clues. They discover the ingenious and devious tactics the owners use to hide their drugs and their distribution of them.
With their boss, Bell, believing the girls lack the mental prowess to catch on to the murders and drug deals, Val and Jessie May begin to work out a plan. However, they have become so wrapped up in the clues and the pursuit, they must go headfirst into the danger to blow the whole mystery wide open.
With exciting twists and turns and tiny revelations on each page, Poison Roots keeps readers planted to their seats.
Martin was born and raised in upstate New York. Her parents were grape farmers in Naples, N.Y. She married and raised five children in her hometown before divorcing. She relocated to Texas 25 years ago. She says she was "a jack of all trades and master of none" until she began writing mystery novels. Her first book, 6 + 6 = 12 Mysterious Elephants (available through 1stBooks), was published in 2002.
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