The Distant Dead by Heather Young

Who would have wanted middle school teacher Adam Merkel dead? Not having completed even one school year in the small Nevada town of Lovelock, Adam wasn't well known by anyone. He had taken student Sal under his wing, and Sal was the one to alert the authorities to the murder scene. In addition, fellow teacher Nora Wheaton had gotten to know Adam a bit, and now feels compelled to help discover his killer. In The Distant Dead, the reader follows both Sal and Nora in the time before Adam's death and after in this dark leisurely-paced yet compelling novel that is reminiscent of the writing of Lou Berney.