The Ninth Step
by Grant Jerkins

Is it true what they say? That we’re only as sick as our worst secret? Because Helen Patrice has one. Last night, she murdered a stranger...

Helen is a recovering alcoholic struggling through a twelve-step program. Now it’s time to make amends for a crime she got away with—a hit and run accident that killed the wife of school teacher Edgar Woolrich. It’s time to face the consequences. When she finally gathers the courage to meet him, the ninth step begins with a lie—the first of many as their relationship grows, and Helen knows it’s far too late to reveal the truth to a man she’s come to love. Then one day, she receives an anonymous note: Does he know you killed his wife?

Now her devastating trail of deceit is about to lead her into the darkest place so far—that of other people’s secrets...

Other Books by Grant Jerkins

At the End of the Road

A Very Simple Crime

Grant Jerkins' Bio

Grant Jerkins is the author of the award winning novel, A Very Simple Crime. Barbet Schroeder (Barfly, Reversal of Fortune) is attached to direct the film version. Adapted for the screen by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Nicholas Kazan (At Close Range, Reversal of Fortune) and O'Neill Fellowship playwright Terry Curtis Fox.

The Writer’s Network Screenplay and Fiction competition chose A Very Simple Crime from well over two-thousand entries to take the top honors.

Grant lives with his wife and son in the Atlanta area and worked for ten years advocating for the rights of adults with developmental disabilities.