Protectors

A former combat nurse, a former legal secretary, and the owner of one of the first women-only gyms form an unlikely alliance in this fast-paced and riveting new work by the acclaimed historical mystery novelist Kris Nelscott. The novel opens on the day of the Moon landing, July 20, 1969, two years after the Summer of Love changed Berkeley forever, and left lots of broken teenagers in its wake. One of the first (if not the first) women-only gyms in the nation and the start of the Women's Self-Defense Movement bring June "Eagle" Eagleton, Valentina "Val" Wilson, and Pamela "Pammy" Griffin together. They never intended to face the kidnappings and murders of college students. But no one else paid attention. An amazing trip into the experiences and lives of 1969 Berkeley told with riveting attention to detail. A read that will keep you turning pages into the late night and shock you at the same time. "Nelscott expertly mixes history and mystery, and readers will be happy that she intends to write more books about these distinctive people and eventful times." --Publishers Weekly "Nelscott is a first-rate storyteller." --Kirkus Reviews "Nelscott's series setting, in the turbulent late '60s, gives her books layers of issues of racism, class, and war, all of which still seem to remain sadly timely today." --Oregonian "(A) crime writer deliberately taking chances." --Chicago Tribune