Designing Justice: Negative Spaces

(Paperback)

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Mateo 'Teo' Saco believed that to succeed in his career, he had to perform well and follow all the rules. However, he bent the rules when he involved Tessie' Mac' McIntosh in an undercover job. He prioritized his promising relationship with Mac over his priority of hiding his identity while undercover for PPD. As a result of his choices, the suspects tried to murder him, resulting in his injuries and placing Mac in danger.

The suspects were arrested and convicted; however, during his recovery, Mateo had to decide whether to resign from the PPD or join Mac's private investigation agency. His former captain described him as a well-respected officer with critical knowledge of crime trends and the ability to develop strategies to solve complicated crimes. Mateo chose to stay with PPD but would now focus on homicide.

Mateo moved to a new precinct with a new partner, Detective Kaley Callum. On his first day, he faced a case that would baffle him. Mateo realized that he needed to use all his resources to search for the killer while navigating and redefining his self-identity and relationships at work and home. Mateo called upon Mac as a resource to help the PPD. Their research uncovered that the crime had international ties, requiring Mateo and Callum to seek help from the FBI.

As the Covid pandemic reached Philadelphia, PA, Mateo and Mac had to navigate unexpected work restrictions, a new living arrangement, and often conflicting daily challenges. Mateo saw Mac made hard choices about her business, employees, and their relationship. He discovered how her choices affected their relationship while he found the limits on how he responded to new situations. Together, Mac and Mateo chose to work on their relationship and navigate unexpected work restrictions, new living arrangements, and financial challenges while trying to address each roadblock.

Author Bio

L. Morgandale was born in Philadelphia, PA, and raised in the suburbs. She studied Social Studies and Secondary Education before focusing on Computer Science. She pursued several careers, which provided her with many life experiences, some treasured, some not, but are the experiences she continually draws upon. After obsessing over books about mysteries, crime, and romance, she began writing her debut novel during the pandemic of 2019.
When not writing, she can be found on her computer, researching different topics from politics, nature, art, religion, and anything that interests her. She currently lives in the Philadelphia area, in a life-affirming community.