The Arcanum of Beth

Beth Candler's life is good. She finally realizes there is more to living than working all her waking hours as an accountant. She finds a new love, Louise Stephens, and moves into a home in the country. The death of Beth's mother brings her brother and sister-in-law back into her life. Beth has it all, and her sister-in-law wants it. Lou is only too willing to oblige. When Beth dies in a tragic accident, her best friend Janet Evans takes charge.

Janet is relentless as she uses all her skills as an attorney to prove Beth's death as murder by the very women she loved. Janet risks her practice while enlisting her life partner, their friends, and the legal system to discover a truth she had rather not known - The Arcanum of Beth.

Mary Jane Russell is a native Virginian - the sixth generation to be raised on the family farm. She recently retired from local government after thirty-one years of service, during which she set a series of firsts - first female draftsman, staff engineer, project manager, and first female director of economic development.

Her lifelong love has been books and reading; her dream since a teenager was to be a published writer. This made her second career an easy choice. She is encouraged by her Cardigan Corgi, Winnie, and ignored by her cats. She lives with her partner in Roanoke, Virginia, and is discovering the joys of being an honorary grandmother.

The Arcanum of Beth is her first published novel.