When the Smoke Cleared: A Murder Mystery in Malden

There is no greater distinction or responsibility for a law enforcement officer than to be selected to investigate homicides. The same is true for a prosecutor. It is analogous to a call up to the big leagues where the lights are brighter, the audience larger and louder, and the scrutiny and demand for perfection is at times a bit overwhelming.

This story follows an extraordinary murder investigation from the crime scene through the trial prep and into the courtroom and is told through the voice of DLT. Bill Powers, the commander of the State Police Detective Unit for the Middlesex District Attorney's Office in Massachusetts. Walk the path of the investigation with Bill and his team, and then follow in ADA Adrienne Lynch's footsteps as she guides the trial from opening statements through to the final verdict; a truly unique accounting with a bird's eye view.

Beyond a police and courtroom procedural, this story is about the personal struggles in the victim's life and how her death impacted her family's lives in ways no one could have foreseen. It is a love story that grew from unspeakable tragedy.

Bill Powers writes from the heart because he spent twenty years living the life of a homicide investigator. He went to literally hundreds of death scenes and, while each made its mark, none had more of a personal effect on him than this case.