The provided text contains excerpts from the mystery novel Shakespeare’s Counselor, following the perspective of Lily Bard, a survivor of trauma who works as a house cleaner and aids her private investigator partner, Jack Leeds. Lily’s decision to join a local rape survivor therapy group soon places her at the center of a criminal investigation when the group's counselor, Tamsin Lynd, is stalked, and a new member is murdered inside the therapy office. As the situation escalates, Lily is occupied with her own personal crisis, including working on an insurance fraud case and recovering from an unexpected miscarriage. The investigation introduces two unconventional police figures, Detective Alicia Stokes and patrolman Gerry McClanahan (who is secretly a true-crime author); however, the stalking and attacks, which include the murder of McClanahan, are eventually revealed to be the work of Tamsin’s grief-stricken and manipulative husband, Cliff Eggers.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.