The Missing Ones by Patricia Gibney

 

A woman's body is discovered in a cathedral.  Susan Sullivan worked in the county planning office.  The case is given to Detective Lottie Parker, who is in her early forties, overworked with three teenagers at home.  When the police go to the home of another employee of the planning office, they find him hanging from a tree.  

As the investigation moves on, two possible routes for solving it emerge.  Both victims had the same unusual tattoo on their bodies.  It turns out that both were residents as children of St. Angela's, a children's home now closed but with dark rumors swirling around it.  Does the case have to do with the home?

But St. Angela's is about to undergo a major transformation into a resort with a golf course, luxury housing and amenities.  Is there something going on at the planning office that caused the two employees death?

Lottie works the case with her second, Mark Boyd.  The two have history but Lottie is trying to put that behind her.  There are several suspects.  The head of the planning committee doesn't want to talk.  A priest at the cathedral is a bit too helpful.  The developer who is in charge of the St. Angela's renovation has some shady connections.  When two teenage boys go missing, the case becomes even more urgent.  Can Lottie solve it in time to save the boys?

This is the first book in the Lottie Parker series.  Lottie is a hard individual to care about as she veers between overworking her job with little care for her co-workers and ignoring her teenagers who are still grieving the loss of their father.  It turns out that Lottie's family also has a connection to St. Angela's and that may excuse some of Lottie's wild thrashing abouts.  This series is popular and recommended for mystery readers.