Susan P Baker

HOUSTON - The parents of kidnapped twin babies hire P. I. Mavis Davis to find their children held captive in this city notorious for human trafficking. When police discover the twins' father standing over the dead body of the primary suspect, the situation becomes even more dire. Can Mavis rescue the children, prove their father innocent, and catch the real perpetrator without becoming the next victim?

In this eclectic collection of personal essays, short fiction, and nonfiction, retired Texas District Court Judge Susan P. Baker writes about "what she knows." That Susan's parents instilled a sense of empathy in her is reflected in her writings as she shows what life was like in the 50s and 60s growing up on Galveston Island, Texas, then later into adulthood, and in the anguish, outrage, and sadness she witnessed as a family law attorney, and finally as a Family Court Judge.

When P. I. Mavis Davis takes on the grisly ax murder of a cruise ship captain in Galveston, Texas, she wades right into the middle of an open investigation, navigating the island from one end to the other, searching for answers to five-year-old questions. Faced with a terminally ill client, Mavis must find the perpetrator fast or her client will go to her grave heartbroken that her brother's killing remains a mystery.

Devastated by a divorce and death of a child, Texas District Court Judge Torie Van Fleet rebuilds her life around succeeding in the justice system. Her goal is to work her way to the U. S. Supreme Court. Vowing to do whatever it takes, Torie risks her relationship with her new husband by refusing to bear him a child. Further, she jeopardizes her friendship with her best friend by competing with her for the first major hurdle toward her goal, appointment to the Texas Supreme Court after the sudden death of one of the justices. Not until she realizes what her backers demand of her does she understand what an exorbitant price she must pay to reach her dream. Will she risk everything, come to terms with her priorities, or does she even have a choice?

What you don't know CAN hurt you. Frustrated with the two controlling men in her life, Dena Barlow Armstrong has outlined a rosy future for herself and her children, independent of them. Her husband, Zack, constantly pushes her to turn over her inheritance to him, and when she doesn't, he punishes her with his indifference. Her law partner and cousin, Lucas, controls her money and the types of cases she accepts. Just as Dena begins to achieve her goal of independence, someone emerges with very different plans for her. Unaware of the danger she faces, Dena lives each day as a wife, mother, and attorney. Then one day, when her husband is out of town, the stranger lurks in her garage, waiting until she and the children go to bed... This standalone novel is Susan P. Baker's sixth mystery/suspense novel. Buy a copy today and find out if this young lawyer and her children survive.

Although there have been individual books published about famous murder cases ranging from serial killers, mass murderers and more . . . ." Murdered Judges of the Twentieth Century" is the first collection of its kind. Susan P. Baker started this project because she was concerned with the prevalence of violence in American courthouses in the 1980s and 1990s. She had always thought of a courthouse as a safe haven, a place where one came to resolve one's differences through peaceful means, a sanctuary if you will. she imagined that people had respect for the judiciary, for lawyers, for bailiffs, and for other folks who worked in the legal business whether or not at our safe haven. Although she knew of Federal Judge John Wood's assassination, she assumed it was a fluke. It was related to a drug case. Those people knew no bounds.

Baker depicts . . . "a riveting custody battle." Kirkus ReviewsA mother. A child. A heartrending court fight. Marian Reid was forced by her mother to give up her autistic son, Robert, for adoption. Though she fought in court for him twice in the past, when his current caregiver is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, she must fight a third time or risk losing all contact with him. Trouble is, at Marian's high school reunion, she has just reconciled with her soul mate, the father Robert has never known. Further, she must break a promise to her best friend, risking their friendship. Ledbetter Street is a story of the mothers, the children, the friendships, and the personal tragedies of people who have become a family by virtue of their choice of home, their struggles, and the lessons learned.

Jim Dorman, a laid off newspaperman in the Texas hill country, can't pay his child support. He's summoned to court for nonsupport and the first thing the judge does is read a Suggestion of Death into the record for a man who was supposed to appear that day. She tells the next man that his children would be better off if he were dead. When Jim steps up for his turn, the judge tells him to get a job or go to jail. At his next court appearance the judge reads another Suggestion of Death into the record, sparking Jim's curiosity. He soon discovers a number of men who have been cited for nonsupport died "accidental deaths." When an informant winds up murdered and stuffed into a trunk and strange mishaps befall Jim, he figures he'd better find out who's behind it all before he ends up as the next dead dad.

"Mavis is a strong and resourceful protagonist, and Baker is a strong and resourceful writer. They make a good team." David Pitt. ALA"Easy read - didn't want it to end. Laughed out loud some times Get it - you won't be sorry." Debbie Vassallo, a reader. Private Investigator Mavis Davis starts out searching for a missing girl as a favor to wacky Candy Finklestein, her half-day, high school worker, but the search soon becomes a search for a kidnapper and murderer when the missing girl's brother also disappears and their father winds up dead. Because of her missteps, Mavis is implicated in the kidnapping and must solve the case to clear her name. Even her cop boyfriend, Ben, can't help her this time--or rather, won't. If Mavis can't solve this caper, she's facing a life sentence

Throughout the world, injuries are the leading cause of death during more than half of the average life span. This book documents the nature and magnitude of the problem and provides basic approaches to injury prevention. Injury statistics are given for many developing countries and indigenous populations as well as industrialized nations. Important differences among countries and cultures in types and circumstances of injury are illustrated in a tables and figures that enhance the book's usefulness. The many types of injuries covered in detail include those related to traffic, occupation, disasters, drowning, falls, burns, suicide, and homicide. The cost and health impacts of injury are discussed as well as the role of health services. The authors describe surveillance methods and effective preventive measures that are applicable even in countries with limited resources. This book has been written for public health practitioners and researchers as well as policy makers. Reflecting the author's many years of injury prevention experience in a variety of countries, the book will help readers understand this major health problem, the changes that could reduce it, and the means of influencing crucial public policies.

This is a comprehensive but concise reference that documents the nature and importance of the injury problem in the United States. For each of more than sixty causes of injury, data are presented by age, race, sex, geographic area, urban/rural residence, and per capita income. This second edition includes new chapters on injuries related to sports, work, aviation, and large trucks. Also new are many analyses subdivided by four racial groups as well as age and sex, made possible by the use of mortality data from a seven year period. The updated analyses of time trends throughout the book document major reductions in death rates over the past decade. As a statistical compilation, the book offers users a quick reference to valuable detail, much of which would otherwise be inaccessible. It also discusses reasons for many of the extreme differences among groups of people in injury death rates and describes promising avenues to prevention. This accessible, readable reference will be valuable to public health personnel, physicians, epidemiologists, safety planners and policy makers.

"Mavis Davis is a great character: smart, funny and stubborn enough to make an efficient PI." An Amazon Vine (TM)️ Voice Reviewer "The complex plot unfolds very rapidly." The Galveston Daily News. "Her 'first murder' is as good as you can get." The Daily Press, Newport News, VA "The plot is complex but fast-paced. It is well edited. Mavis may be inexperienced, but she is tenacious." An Amazon ReaderMavis Davis, a likable, new-to-the-job private investigator, not only has one of the wackiest office staffs in mystery fiction, but also goes about solving her first crime in her own, independent, highly interesting way. When greasy-spoon cafe owner Carl Singleton shows up wanting to hire Mavis to solve the murder of one of his waitresses, Doris Jones, a woman with whom he has fallen in love, Mavis reluctantly takes the job especially when Carl confesses that all the other private investigators in Houston have turned him down. But, facts are facts, and Mavis has to face the fact that she has bills to pay that serving legal papers won't cover. Though the Houston Police Department, including Mavis' boyfriend Sgt. Ben Sorensen, get in her face and try to discourage her, Mavis dives head first into the case. What she learns is, there is scandal deep in the heart of Texas. She only hopes she can uncover it before it's too late for her.