CALAVERAS
A THRILLING SUSPENSE NOVEL
Published on 23. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-1-0367-0717-0 (ISBN)
Description
A mother's love. A buried lie. She'll tear down the whole town to protect her own.
Rancher Kate Dunnigan has always believed in hard justice. But when her pregnant daughter, Emma Lee, is accused of killing her husband and disappears, Kate's world implodes. Emma Lee is desperate, traumatized, and on the run. And the more Kate digs into her son-in-law's death, the more dirt she uncovers: betrayal, festering grudges, and a brutal history someone will kill to keep buried.
Hunted by local law and shadowed by a past that won't stay quiet, Kate will do anything to protect her daughter-even if that means laying her own life on the line. But in Calaveras, justice has sharp teeth, and not everyone wants the truth to rise.
Calaveras is a psychological crime thriller set in the ruthless hills of Calaveras County. In this second installment of the Calaveras series, family secrets fester, justice bites back, and one mother's fight could tear everything apart.
_________________________________________
Praise for Calaveras:
? ? ? ? ? ""Every time you think you know what's next, another crazy twist keeps you guessing!""
? ? ? ? ? ""A gash or two above the average thriller, Calaveras has scene after scene that exceeds expectations.""
? ? ? ? ? ""Lisa Michelle knows the people of Calaveras-their quirks, their dialogue, and the chemistry of those who live in rural towns.""
? ? ? ? ? ""The lengths Kate goes to to protect her daughter is a struggle I hope I never experience but something I think most mothers would do.""
? ? ? ? ? ""Calaveras grabs your attention from the first page.""
? ? ? ? ? ""This story has intrigue, mystery, heartbreak, surprising turns, the depth of a mother's love, and a little woo-woo thrown in.""
? ? ? ? ? ""It's a county that, in its own charming way, seems to stay 50 years in the past-captured expertly by someone who knows its secrets.""
? ? ? ? ? ""This is a fascinating story, unlike any I have ever read, and I read a lot.""
? ? ? ? ? ""A twisted love story unfolds in the bucolic splendor of Northern California's Calaveras County.""
? ? ? ? ? ""I was on the edge of my seat anxiously awaiting to see what was going to happen next.""
Rancher Kate Dunnigan has always believed in hard justice. But when her pregnant daughter, Emma Lee, is accused of killing her husband and disappears, Kate's world implodes. Emma Lee is desperate, traumatized, and on the run. And the more Kate digs into her son-in-law's death, the more dirt she uncovers: betrayal, festering grudges, and a brutal history someone will kill to keep buried.
Hunted by local law and shadowed by a past that won't stay quiet, Kate will do anything to protect her daughter-even if that means laying her own life on the line. But in Calaveras, justice has sharp teeth, and not everyone wants the truth to rise.
Calaveras is a psychological crime thriller set in the ruthless hills of Calaveras County. In this second installment of the Calaveras series, family secrets fester, justice bites back, and one mother's fight could tear everything apart.
_________________________________________
Praise for Calaveras:
? ? ? ? ? ""Every time you think you know what's next, another crazy twist keeps you guessing!""
? ? ? ? ? ""A gash or two above the average thriller, Calaveras has scene after scene that exceeds expectations.""
? ? ? ? ? ""Lisa Michelle knows the people of Calaveras-their quirks, their dialogue, and the chemistry of those who live in rural towns.""
? ? ? ? ? ""The lengths Kate goes to to protect her daughter is a struggle I hope I never experience but something I think most mothers would do.""
? ? ? ? ? ""Calaveras grabs your attention from the first page.""
? ? ? ? ? ""This story has intrigue, mystery, heartbreak, surprising turns, the depth of a mother's love, and a little woo-woo thrown in.""
? ? ? ? ? ""It's a county that, in its own charming way, seems to stay 50 years in the past-captured expertly by someone who knows its secrets.""
? ? ? ? ? ""This is a fascinating story, unlike any I have ever read, and I read a lot.""
? ? ? ? ? ""A twisted love story unfolds in the bucolic splendor of Northern California's Calaveras County.""
? ? ? ? ? ""I was on the edge of my seat anxiously awaiting to see what was going to happen next.""
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
336 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0367-0717-0 (9781036707170)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Award-winning screenwriter, filmmaker, and bestselling author Lisa Michelle traded rodeo spurs for hiking boots three decades ago. Her debut thriller Calaveras became an Amazon instant bestseller, launching the successful Blue Mountain and the Calaveras Crime Series. After being snowbound without electricity during winter 2023, she penned The Lonesome Dark. Her recently released and only work of nonfiction, True Nature: Hidden in the High Sierra, earned a PenCraft Best Book Award. This former rodeo cowgirl and mother of two feeds her creative fuel with long wilderness hikes, raging snowstorms, and fly fishing.