Ron Clemons, CEO of Mid-Atlantic Publicity Services, is on his way to a client meeting when he feels ill. As his situation worsens he manages to pull his car to the side of the road.

His body is found in the drivers seat shortly thereafter. The medical examiner finds high levels of digoxin in his blood. This drug is no longer used to treat heart failure, and in addition, Clemons had no history of heart trouble.

Patricia Stanley and her partner Luke Enders are assigned the case. It’s the first suspicious death investigation for both of them and they want to do it right.

While seemingly open to helping, Stanley can’t help but note that some at the Clemons office seems to be telling half truths, or openly hostile when speaking about team mates.

One thing the investigators do know, if they can find who has foxglove in their garden or on a windowsill, they’ll have their killer.

A soft departure from my usual noir reviews. A Matter of Motive is also a story about Stanley’s recovery from the murder of her life partner and the impact on her new relationship.

Margot Kinberg is a mystery novelist and Associate Professor. She writes the Joel Williams series, the Patricia Stanley series, and other fiction.

She also blogs about crime fiction and serves on the judging panel for the Ngaio Marsh Awards for crime fiction.