Skin in the Game

This debut novel from E.G. Rutledge is for readers who enjoy their character driven mysteries with a splash of nostalgia for the eighties. On a spring morning in Manhattan, 1982, the newspaper headlines report the latest homicide: a young scion of finance found strangled in his elegant high rise.When twenty-six year old Sheila Ross, copywriter by day, would-be stand-up comic by night learns of Craig Vitale's murder her blood runs cold.He was her client. As she reads the details of Vitale's murder traumatic memories flood her: this murder has echos of her brother's. Ten years ago, in their sleepy Iowa town, her older brother was murdered and his killerwas never found.Haunted by her brother's murder, Sheila fled Iowa and now calls Manhattan home. Three of her Delmont cohort moved to The Big Apple as well. Reunited at the victim's funeral,they compare their connections to him. NYPD Detective Mike Sloan has caught the case.He was Sheila's murdered brother's best friend back in Iowa. Like Sheila, he sees similaritiesto her brother's murder as well as to cold cases going back ten years that haunt him.Now it seems that a killer has followed the four of them over a decade and a thousand milesfrom Delmont to Manhattan. They'll confront their pasts and give up their secretsto stop a serial killer who's playing the long game. Evelyn Render Katz and Gayle Render Dinerstein are sisters who have joinedforces writing as E.G. Rutledge to add their unique voice to the genre they love.Evelyn and Gayle share a writing brain in addition to their love of mysteries, family, dogs, and chocolate. Not necessarily in that order. Both of them have written all their lives: everything from poetry to short stories to non-fiction to stand-up comedy. They have collaborated on published, award winning articles for Momentum, the magazine of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.Evelyn is a retired occupational therapist. Her non-fiction writing is included in Occupational Therapy with Elders: Strategies for the COTA. Elsevier.Evelyn is also a visual artist. She created the cover design for Skin in the Game. Gayle was a Madison Avenue copywriter in another lifetime, and currently is a realtor whose hobby is stand-up comedy. Both grew up in Omaha, NE. A metropolis compared to fictional Delmont, IA,but not a far cry. .