Is Liam Berne a loving son--or a murderer? The second book in the Ozark Mountain Trilogy, Only by Death is a thought-provoking suspense story of a man who loses everything and learns he must die to find life.After much agonizing, Liam Berne takes his mother, who has Alzheimer's, to the Sure Foot River and drowns her. A mercy killing, he tells himself, to spare her years in a nursing home. And getting his inheritance early isn't a bad thing either.Dixie Berne's body is recovered and the coroner cannot find any sign of foul play, though Liam's sister isn't convinced. Then Liam hears rumors that a twelve-year-old boy has witnessed the drowning. Terrified that he will be discovered, Liam sets out to intimidate the boy into silence. Little does Liam know that someone else suspects him--someone who intends to make him pay.