Chalk Line -- Draw Your Own Conclusions!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) June 3, 2011 -- Paula LaRocque’s first novel introduces an unforgettable detective on the case of his life.
Chief of Detectives Ben Gallagher thinks all will be rosy again when his younger brother, Andrew, is
released from prison. But then a murder close to home tests the loyalties of this unusual lawman.
“You wouldn’t pick Ben Gallagher for a policeman—especially not a Texas policeman,” says
LaRocque. “Not only is he young, handsome, educated, and an accomplished artist, he’s also heir

to a family fortune. But there’s a reason for Ben’s devotion to police work . . .”

After surviving much tragedy—the loss of his father in Vietnam when Ben was an infant, his
brother’s lengthy incarceration—the rule of law is close to Ben’s heart. But, on the very day
Andrew is set free, the brothers discover the body of a lifelong friend. Ben immediately finds
himself breaking rules to protect his family.

“But worse, the closer Ben gets to the case, the surer he is that his family is implicated,”
LaRocque says. He follows a cold case in Michigan only to discover a murderer no one
suspected.

“Ben returns home to the shock of his life. Forced to consider shades of gray he hadn’t known
existed, Ben learns that what he has counted on as certain is uncertain—but also that certainty
finally isn’t what matters.”

LaRocque’s debut has won high praise from heavy hitters in mystery writing.

“Paula LaRocque writes like a dream, and her story’s twists and turns will keep you up at night,
turning pages,” said Doug Swanson, author of the Jack Flippo mystery series and of an upcoming
biography of Texas-born casino owner and mobster Benny Binion. “When Ben Gallagher is on
the case, readers are in for a great treat.”

“Chalk Line is at once a spellbinding mystery and a serious work of fiction—one that plumbs the
meaning of family and explores the wavering line between justice and the law,” said Bruce
DeSilva, Edgar Award-winning author of Rogue Island.

About the Author
Paula LaRocque is the author of The Book on Writing; Championship Writing; and On Words.
She has served as a writing consultant for the Associated Press and is a columnist for the Society
of Professional Journalists’ Quill magazine. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America,
Sisters in Crime, DFW Writers Workshop, and Houston Writers Guild. She lives in Arlington,
Texas.

Chalk Line: A Ben Gallagher Mystery
ISBN: 9781933338958, 304 pages, Cloth, 6.25 x 9.25, $24.95 (CAN $27.95)
Pub date: September 2011. Distributed by IPG 800.888.4741

Learn more at www.paulalarocque.com

Bruce DeSilva     edgar award     Fiction book     IPG     Marion Street Press     mystery novels     mystery writers of america     Paula Larocque