Edgar Award winning author Theresa Schwegel’s fourth novel features a female detective chasing a serial rapist across Chicago, from the westside slums to the glitz of the Loop.

Detective Sloane Pearson is new to the Sex Crimes Division but no stranger to being treated like an incompetent blonde by her hardened male co-workers. She’s also no stranger to hard-to-crack cases, and her latest is as tough as they come: A rapist is on the prowl, dragging women to deserted building sites or vacant apartment buildings peppered all over downtown Chicago, and forcing them to fight—knowing, of course, that he’ll win.

When a real estate agent Sloane knows is attacked by the violent predator, Sloane finds herself taking a case that threatens her secret plans to leave her long-time lover. Her personal bond with the victim and a would-be relationship with a man she interviews along the way lead Sloane down a dangerous path—one that poisons the investigation as well as her personal life.

Sloane’s balancing act topples when her father falls ill. Between coping with his weak heart and following the few weak leads she has, her case begins to go the way that many rape cases go: The victims fall away, one by one, suddenly unsure of what they saw or unwilling to relive the horrifying moments again and again.

When Sloane helps a hungry young Sun-Times reporter declare the case serial, she loses support: Her bosses demand she get a suspect or move on. Sloane stays on the case, though—no matter how much it strains her personal relationships. Even her partner claims she’s in too deep: He doesn’t believe there’s an arrest on the planet worth a cop’s life. Sloane disagrees: Someone’s got to take up the fight.

From the worst slums of Chicago’s west side to the glittering Loop skyscrapers, Sloane finds no shortage of suspects. As she loses everything she’d called home, she can only hope to find the rapist before she also becomes a victim.

Author Theresa Schwegel’s debut won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and was also shortlisted for the Anthony Award. Person of Interest is an astute slice of suspenseful crime fiction offering an intense portrait of the complicated lives of an undercover police officer and his family. As Schwegel steadily ratchets up the tension, the McHugh family faces mounting internal and external pressures that threaten to shred the very fabric of their domestic life.

Edgar award winner Theresa Schwegel returns with The Good Boy, her most dramatic and emotional novel to date, a family epic that combines the hard-boiled grit of her acclaimed police thrillers with an intimate portrait of a young boy trying to follow his heart in an often heartless city.

For Officer Pete Murphy, K9 duty is as much a punishment as a promotion. When a shaky arrest reignites a recent scandal and triggers a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, all eyes are on Pete as the department braces for another media firestorm.

Meanwhile, Pete’s eleven-year-old son Joel feels invisible. His parents hardly notice him–unless they’re arguing about his “behavioral problems”–and his older sister, McKenna, has lately disappeared into the strange and frightening world of teenagerdom. About the only friend Joel has left is Butchie, his father’s furry “partner.”

When Joel and Butchie follow McKenna to a neighborhood bully’s party, illegal activity kicks the dog’s police training into overdrive, and soon the duo are on the run, navigating the streets of Chicago as they try to stay one step ahead of the bad guys–bad guys who may have a very personal interest in getting some payback on Officer Pete Murphy.

“Narrator Hillary Huber portrays Chicago cop Gina Simonetti in this work and home drama with a somber attitude that echoes her intense personality…This heartbreaking story involves vulnerable people who are being abused by their caregivers. Huber’s delivery matches those high stakes and faithfully portrays the tragic conclusions.” — AudioFile Magazine

The Lies We Tell by Theresa Schwegel is a touching audiobook about a resourceful cop who perseveres against all odds to catch criminals and be the mother she wants to be.

Chicago police detective Gina Simonetti is keeping a secret from the department: she has multiple sclerosis. Raising her young niece on her own, Gina hides her disease; she can’t afford to lose her job. Anyway, she is healthier than most of the cops she knows, and greatly appreciates the responsibility of caring for a child.

But Gina’s secret is threatened when a colleague calls her in to help trace a suspect: Johnny Marble has added to his rap sheet with an assault charge–this time against his mother. When Gina pays a visit to the mom in the hospital and winds up running into–and after–Marble, she finds herself in a physical confrontation she can’t possibly win. He gets away, and Gina is faced with an impossible situation. She has to find him, but knows doing so means turning in the one person who knows the true story of what happened. After all, now that he’s seen her fight, Johnny Marble can reveal her deepest secret to the police department.

Though alone in her struggle, Gina isn’t alone in her search: in addition to a loyal partner, there is a curious detective and an entire force of coworkers on the hunt. And she’s sympathetic to Marble’s mother, a woman who is losing her mind to Alzheimer’s. Still, Gina fears the fallout: she has no idea how will she keep her own world intact once Marble is found and the truth is out.

Once again, Theresa Schwegel brings her remarkable talent to bear in this compelling crime audiobook about imperfect people struggling against all odds–and this time, against the very people who are supposed to help.