Definition Murder

Single and nearing forty, SFPD inspector Meg McCafferty longs for a loving, committed relationship, but lately only finds temporary comfort with her "euphemistic" boyfriends, Ernest and Julio Gallo. Unfortunately, up to now McCafferty has found little or no comfort in any relationships, personal or otherwise.

When the cell phone rings at 2:15 am she instinctively senses this isn't a social call; more to the point, business however macabre as usual--another routine homicide that seems anything but.

San Francisco State University freshman Sarah Sinclair is found brutally murdered in her dorm room and a cold-blooded predator eludes authorities. So far the evidence remains sketchy; a torn page from an old dictionary and the name of a respected educator scribbled on a tiny sheet of paper. Short of a conviction, McCafferty hopes for a miracle. After all, it's still Monday.