Six Bills (Wilhelmina Carson, #3) by M. Diane Vogt

Wilhelmina Carson is a no-nonsense United States District Court Judge who lives happily with her husband and beloved dogs in an historic home-turned-restaurant in Tampa. Against her better judgment she agrees to look into a seemingly hopeless case, which soon spirals into her job being threatened, unwanted media attention, and eventually a shocking murder. It begins innocently enough when Harris Steam, a local musician, comes to her for help. His mother is serving a thirty-year sentence for the murder of his father, Trey Steam, and Harris swears she couldn't have done it. He wants her freed, and Willa Carson manages to exonerate Billie Jo Steam. Only days after gaining her freedom Billie Jo is shot to death, and the police believe her son committed the crime. Now Willa is entangled in a messy cse for which she feels partly responsible, and it is up to her to clear Harris Steam's name and find Billie Jo's killer. In order to do so, Willa must dig deep into the past--the Woodstock days of the sixties--to the original murder of Trey Steam, a member of the popular local band six Bills at the time of his death. Willa learns that each of the guys in the band--the "Six Bills"--carried a torch for the beautiful young Billie Jo--some secretly, and some not so secretly. The deeper Willa digs into this ancient case, the more mysterious it becomes. What happened when the Six Bills and Billie Jo made their life-changing journey to Woodstock, and could it have led to the night Trey Steam was murdered? Who is Harris' real father? And who is responsible for the murder of Trey and the more recent killing of Billie Jo? The farther she goes, the more she realizes that there are still many people inTampa--from pillars of the community to old hippies to her own friends and fellow workers--who will do whatever it takes to keep the past buried. Fans of Kinsey Millhone, Stephanie Plum and Sharon McCone will be won over by Willa Carson. Diane Vogt expertly evokes the South Florida landscape and Tampa way of life, as well as the bygone days of the sixties and a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of a judge's chambers in this provocative breakout legal thriller.