A bookish police detective and his roller-derby-star partner investigate a quirky mystery involving superintelligent animals, government conspiracy … and murder in the delightful new mystery As the Crow Dies.When a body is found in the River Arts District of Asheville, North Carolina, the man on the case is police lieutenant Ira Segal, recently returned to semi-active status after being shot in the line of duty and struggling with depression and PTSD. Segal maintains his precarious composure by carrying paperback books in his coat pockets, changing authors with his mood — Elmore Leonard on good days, Ernest Hemingway on bad ones. Segal isn’t sure he’s up to investigating a murder, and neither is his partner, military veteran and local roller derby star Sgt. Dinah Dinosaur Rudisill. Segal discovers that the victim worked for the mysterious start-up company Creatures 2.0, which trains animals to acquire uncanny capabilities. Creature 2.0’s eccentric founder, Francis Elah, has gone missing, and no one can find him—not even Elah’s top client, the Office of Naval Intelligence. As Segal and Rudisill investigate the murder and Elah’s disappearance, they encounter the bizarre animals Elah trained, including a raccoon who rolls cigarettes, pigeons who follow a priest to church, and a superintelligent crow named Richard, who has a disconcerting way of bringing relevant evidence to Segal and Rudisill’s attention. When their investigation leads to a shadowy military contractor, more murders, and a threat to national security, Segal and Rudisill face a dangerous confrontation, and the only thing they can trust is each other. Witty, engaging and fast paced, As the Crow Dies is a mystery that veers from the norm in charmingly unexpected ways.