A social worker turns amateur sleuth when the child in her care is endangered in this southern domestic thriller. Claire Conover's first instinct is always to keep children safe. So when the social worker's latest case involves a biracial baby orphaned by what looks like a racially-motivated attack, Claire works night and day to find a family to take in the eight month old. But the only relatives she uncovers could put the baby's life into more danger. The case quickly upends her personal life, and the home she is making with her boyfriend, Grant. Things get even more complicated when the teen runaway Claire has been worrying about turns up, brutalized and homeless. Of course, Claire takes her in, even though the move puts her job—and her relationship—at risk. Keeping the children in her care out of harm's way is second nature for Claire. But this time, it could cost her everything. Praise for Little Lamb Lost , Book 1 of the Claire Conover Mysteries: "Fenton puts her experiences as a social worker to good use in her promising debut. . . . With her fine ear for regional speech, Fenton may do for Birmingham what Margaret Maron has done for rural North Carolina." — Publishers Weekly "A relentless social worker makes an intriguing amateur sleuth, and Birmingham offers a fresh take on the New South as a setting for crime fiction. . . . [A] promising new series." — Booklist