<DIV>Natalie Joday, a Bergen County, NJ reporter with a knack for digging up the facts, is pulled into the investigation of Lydia Dow’s murder by the victim’s anguished sister. But compassion turns to fear when she discovers that her brother Daniel—a natural magnet for trouble—was the last person to see Lydia alive. A compassionate cop releases Daniel, who once dated Lydia, as long as he stays put—which means moving in with Natalie, since he’s broke with no place to go. But a lifetime of painful run-ins with the legal system has left Natalie wary of the police, so she sets out to solve the case on her own, starting with Lydia’s family. Stepmother Rose plays the tearful helpmate, but her sweet observations are poisonous at the core. Graham, novelist and long-term houseguest, drops hints about financial troubles. Introverted sister Sarah and her over-protective boyfriend Harry seem to be the only ones actually mourning. Which includes the head of the household, Eric Dow: loudmouth, chauvinist, bully. Eric throws Natalie out of the house, but things change with the reading of the will, when it is discovered to whom Lydia left her considerable fortune. Natalie follows the money, but the trail leads straight to Daniel. So Natalie must choose between hiding the truth from the compassionate cop or taking the risk to uncover the secrets of the past—including her own. Set in northeastern New Jersey, The Hatch and Brood of Time is a psychological tale of family relationships, personal redemption, and murder.</div>