Old Poison introduces Diana Hunter, PI. This is the first of four planned mystery novels featuring the adventuresome private eye. 

Old Poison, a Diana Hunter Mystery
    Prophetic Mystery Blurs Line Between Fact and Fiction    

   A tightly written and prophetic little mystery, Old Poison, lures readers in as a delightful vacation read, then leaves them stunned and wondering what is real and what is fiction. This one-two punch makes Old Poison, by private eye Joan Francis, the must read of the summer.
    Joan's fifteen years' experience in private investigation lends an authenticity to Old Poison's protagonist, private eye Diana Hunter, but don't expect a stodgy procedural. Old Poison is a fast-paced eco-thriller with themes and events that echo hauntingly from the morning newspaper and evening television.
    In Old Poison, Diana Hunter is enticed to assist environmentalist Evelyn Lilac with an unlikely document called the Martian Diary. Though Diana is told that this work is a science fiction novel, she soon finds that Evelyn and the diary are at the vortex of a high octane mystery and that someone is willing to murder for the Martian Diary.
    Leads in the case take Diana on dangerous paths from Southern California to New Mexico to the rain forest of Costa Rica, and turn up surprising secrets regarding global warming, life and water on Mars, extreme weather events, leaded gas pollution, and the unexpected dangers of alternative fuels.
    When asked about the coincidence of real news stories and her mystery, Joan said, "My job has always been to find information for people. Sometimes the information is out there and just takes a bit of expertise to find. Sometimes it is deliberately hidden and takes a bit of finesse to uncover. When I began Old Poison with something as fantastic as a Martian diary, I thought I was finally escaping reality and embracing the fun of fiction. With the headlines that have appeared since Old Poison was published, I get an eerie feeling that I didn't escape all that far after all.