Hi, I’m Madelyn Garcia Castillo. If my name sounds familiar, it’s probably because I was the rookie cop who got framed for murder in JAILHOUSE GLOCK. A wannabe gangster ended up dead in a jail cell, my gun was used, and I nearly traded in my badge for an orange jumpsuit. I survived that mess, learned some hard lessons, and came out on the other side as a seasoned detective.
I’m also the oldest of five Garcia sisters. One of them—Tessa—was murdered several years ago. She wasn’t exactly beloved in her small Texas town because she had a gift for being condescending and manipulative. Death didn’t soften her personality one bit. She still has her sarcasm, her humor… and apparently, unfinished business. She shows up as a ghost when one of us is in danger, offering commentary no one asked for and pushing for us to find the truth.
In DEADLY TRIANGLE, my partner, Gary “Mitch” Mitchell, and I are called to what looks like a murder-suicide on the outskirts of Vineyard, Texas, just north of Dallas. It doesn’t take long to realize the scene was staged. Very carefully staged. Turns out the truth is far uglier: a double homicide designed to look clean and simple. Things get complicated fast. The female victim was a helicopter pilot and a Naval Reserve officer, which brings NCIS Special Agent Nick Ryan into our case. Mitch hates him on site and wants him gone. I wanna hate him—but those blue eyes make that harder than it should be, and I don’t like distractions when people are already lying to me.
Then a new wrinkle pops up, and the case becomes personal. DNA puts my sister Deena at the scene. I learned she’d been secretly involved with the male victim, and suddenly I’m asking questions I never wanted answered. Why were my sister, her boyfriend, and a married woman together that night? Before I can confront Deena, she disappears.
Against orders, my sisters and I start digging on our own, helped—if that’s the word—by the unsettling presence of Tessa’s ghost.
Mitch and I suddenly find ourselves in the crosshairs of a killer who doesn’t care to leave witnesses behind, and I have to find the truth fast—before I lose another sister. The only question left is whether this was a love triangle turned deadly…or whether Deena is the next victim.
DEADLY TRIANGLE
Series Name: A Garcia Girls Mystery, Book 5
Genre: Romantic Suspense with paranormal elements
Release: March 2026
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link
A double homicide. A missing sister. A triangle of secrets with only one way out.
When Detective Madelyn Castillo and her new partner, Lieutenant Gary Mitchell, are called to the scene of what appears to be a murder–suicide, they quickly realize the truth is far more disturbing. The crime has been carefully staged—and it’s only the beginning.
Complicating matters, one of the victims is a Naval Reserve helicopter pilot, bringing an intrusive NCIS special agent, Nick Ryan, into the investigation. The case turns personal when Madelyn learns that her sister, Deena, had been secretly involved with the male victim—and that DNA places Deena at the scene of the crime.
Then Deena vanishes.
Against orders, Madelyn and her siblings begin digging into the mystery themselves, aided by the unsettling presence of the wise-cracking ghost of their deceased sister, Tessa—who appears only when one of them is in danger.
As a dangerous stalker closes in and a crucial lead goes violently wrong, Madelyn and Mitchell find themselves trapped in a deadly triangle of obsession, betrayal, and buried truths. With the killer determined to leave no witnesses behind, Madelyn must uncover the truth before her family becomes the final casualties.
DEADLY TRIANGLE launches A Garcia Girls Mystery with high-stakes romantic suspense, layered family dynamics, and a chilling supernatural edge. Lizbeth Lipperman blends police procedure, emotional urgency, and eerie intuition into a fast-paced mystery where love, loyalty, and survival are dangerously intertwined.
About the author
Raised in a small town in Ohio, number 8 of 9 children, Liz Lipperman started writing many years ago, even before she retired from the medical field. Her debut cozy series, published first as The Clueless Cook series and then later as the Jordan McAllister Mysteries, tells the story of a wannabe sportswriter who ends up in a small town in Texas as the culinary expert despite the fact that her skills in the kitchen stop at fried bologna sandwiches and Pop Tarts. The Garcia Girls Mysteries, a soft-boiled mystery series written as Lizbeth Lipperman and earlier titled Dead Sister Talking, centers around five sisters, one of whom is murdered and comes back as a wise-cracking ghost. The series debuted with Heard it Through the Grapevine, followed by 3 more books. The fifth book in that series, Deadly Triangle, was released on March 3 and is available for purchase. Check out her website for excerpts and reviews for all her books at www.lizlipperman.com.