SANDPOINT — In classic, cliffhanger style, local author Bonnie Thompson spools out a serial tale of murder, cover-up, missing evidence and mysterious circumstance in a new e-book trilogy titled, “Buried Truth.”

The three parts of the trilogy — named “Backtrack,” “Preponderance of Evidence” and “Plea for Justice” respectively — recount a decades-old triple homicide that took place in the author’s hometown of Lincoln, Ill.

Thompson actually knew the three members of the influential family who were slain in what she called “a Manson copycat murder,” having been a high school cheerleader with the eldest daughter of the family. And, since Thompson herself was the daughter of the state’s attorney at the time, she also got a ringside seat as she watched the case move through the court system and result in a murder conviction of the man who confessed to the slayings.

For the rest of the story, see the print edition of the Bonner County Daily Bee or subscribe to our e-edition.