My thoughts are in blue, words to delete are in red, suggested rephrasing is in orange.

I'm currently seeking representation for my debut novel, Standing Darkness. It is a 70,000 word thriller set in Appalachia. It is the first in a planned series, I would only pitch as a standalone with series potential focusing on the central heroine's journey back and forth between law and her family's criminal habits. It is told from the perspective of four major and five minor characters, with a focus on women and their interactions with law enforcement. Are there four narrators? I wouldn't mention POV if there is a single narrator. Right now, this sounds like it has 9 different narrators, which woudln't be a good move for this genre. Also, I typically encourage writers to open with their hook, and put title, word count, etc., at the bottom. Open with the one thing you've got no one else does - your hook.

One night, a man followed June Morgan home from a tent revival. Five years later, the spring thaw is revealing pieces of murdered women along the hillsides of Appalachia. This is a good hook - open with it!

Kentucky State Investigator Gretchen Connor hears about one of these women from her estranged cousin in a West Virginia lockup. They were all busy, respectable and tragic, similar in a sad and indescribable way. I think you need more here - HOW are they similar? Saying it's indescribable isn't a great way for an author to present an element of their story Someone is tearing them apart. Struggling against her doubtful supervisors and a reputation marred by her family's criminal past and present , she enlists the help of retiring FBI agent Charles Yancy to hunt for a killer who leaves very little behind and moves through rough, mysterious terrain with ease. Really, really long sentence here. Break this up. How is the terrain mysterious? If she's a person who is familiar with Appalachia, would she really feel that it's mysterious? As possible cases and clues pile up around them, they struggle to understand what motivates the man they hunt.

Meanwhile, June is starting to receive strange gifts that leave her confused. The local police aren't worried but someone is watching again. This is super vague - what are the gifts, and what does watching again mean?

Standing Darkness is my first foray into fiction as a published legal scholar on the 14th amendment in the Tulane Journal of Law and Sexuality. My 15 minutes of fame already came as a Jeopardy contestant, so I plan to publish under the nom de plume E.A. Cannon. Oh that is super fun!! Love the bio.

Overall, you need more detail in order to distinguish this from any other female detective seeks to catch killer who goes after women narrative. What makes this one different? And what is June like? I don't have a sense of her character here.