~Trial by Twelve is the 2015 Grace Award Winner for Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller/Historical Suspense~
Tess Spencer loves her low-key job at the Crystal Mountain Spa, which allows her plenty of down-time with her one-year old daughter and lawyer husband, Thomas. But when a pool installation turns up eight skeletons in the spa's back yard, Tess becomes entangled in a sleuthing job destined to go awry. As the investigation gets underway, someone dumps a fresh body near the excavated burial site, confirming unspeakable fears. A serial killer has returned to Buckneck, West Virginia...a skilled hunter with a unique taste in prey. When Tess agrees to help the cunning Detective Tucker gather clues from the inside, she discovers the posh spa hides more than dead bodies. Even as she sifts through layers of deceit, Tess realizes too late that the killer's sights have zeroed in on her. Unpredictable psychological mystery replete with memorable characters, Trial by Twelve is Book Two in A Murder in the Mountains series.
"This novel grabs the reader's attention from the start. The writing is crisp with a fresh and unique author voice. The pacing moves along fast enough to keep the reader hooked but not so quickly as to create confusion...Ms. Gilbert makes good use of red herrings, both with characters and even setting."
"A satisfying novel, where plot, characters and setting blend into a compelling read. Heather Day Gilbert knows how to keep readers turning pages. Tess is one of those rare-to-me characters I'd like to have as a real-life friend."
"Trial by Twelve confirms Tess Spencer, the Glock-toting mountain mama of Buckneck, West Virginia, as one of my favorite amateur sleuths and Heather Day Gilbert as a first-rate mystery writer. This second book in Gilbert's Murder in the Mountains series ups the ante on the first: the stakes are higher, the tension runs deeper. Best of all, Gilbert kept me guessing until the end."
5-Star Review by Brenda Castro for Readers' Favorite:
"Heather Day Gilbert's Trial By Twelve provides more twists than the winding country roads that traverse the hills of Buckneck, WV! A mystery that left me guessing and totally wrong about who the killer was. A tightly woven story written in a way that allowed me to feel like I was seeing the events unfold through the eyes of the characters."
"Heather Gilbert brings a fresh new voice to the mystery genre. I love the spunky Tess Spencer and her small town values. The first two books of this series are filled with plenty of suspense and the kind of characters that keep me coming back for more."
"Bursting with atmosphere and suspense, Trial By Twelve is a fast-paced who-done-it filled with quirky characters and surprises at every turn. Once again, Heather Day Gilbert has brought small-town West Virginia to vivid life, combining new characters with old favorites. Fans of Miranda Warning will find Trial by Twelve a satisfying sequel, and readers new to the series will discover a favorite heroine to root for and grow with."
"This novel brings another series into the Christian fiction fold that can easily be recommended to those who enjoy psychological thrillers yet do not want all the trappings that mainstream fiction can bring with that genre."
