In Motive for Murder, rookie detective Hana Brown's traumatic past puts her front and center of the Fairfax County Police Department's media push-and gets her assigned to the gruesome murder of an Asian woman. At first the death is considered a routine gang killing. By the time the FCPD realized the victim is the first in a series of Chinese American women being murdered by someone who signs their notes "Jack the Ripper," it's too late to replace Hana.

An FBI agent chosen as her deputy-despite his protests-endorses the belief that the culprit is a serial killer. But everything changes when Hana finds herself attracted to an intrepid news reporter who has advanced a competing theory: that political intrigue is the true motive behind the murders.