Bad Seed: An Alex Bernier Mystery

Journalist Alex Bernier has her hands full investigating a breaking story for the Gabriel Monitor. A legion of activists has besieged Benson University to protest research on genetically engineered food. The debate threatens to rip the town in half, as people in favor of using bioengineering face off against those who oppose the technology at any cost. When Kate Barnett, a charismatic plant science professor and avid proponent of genetic engineering, is found beaten to death in her lab, the activists are the number one suspects. But is it really such an open-and-shut case? What about Barnett's colleagues, envious of her fame and grant money? Her troubled son, who has been in and out of jail? Or the grad student who accused Barnett of stealing her ideas? As Alex searches for the truth, she discovers that her best friend, hard-drinking science reporter Jake Madison, is out of commission after an overdose everyone assumes was self-inflicted -- everyone except Alex.