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.