In a charming cozy mystery series debut, Leslie Nagel’s irrepressible small-town heroine finds that her fellow book club members may be taking their Agatha Christie a bit too literally – and murder a bit too lightly.
Charley Carpenter has poured heart and soul into her clothing store, Old Hat Vintage Fashions. She’ll do anything to make it a success – even join the stuffy Agathas Book Club in order to cultivate customers among the wealthy elite of Oakwood, Ohio.
Although mixing with the most influential women in town has its advantages, Charley finds the endless gossip a high price to pay. But after two women with close ties to the Agathas are brutally murdered, everyone falls under threat – and suspicion. When key evidence indicates that both murders are the work of the same hand, Charley realizes that the killer has arranged each corpse in perfect imitation of crime scenes from the club’s murder mystery reading list. She uses her membership in the club to convince Detective Marcus Trenault to use her as an inside informant. Not that he could stop her anyway.
Intelligent, fearless, and every bit as stubborn as Marc is, Charley soon learns the Agathas aren’t the only ones with secrets to protect. Passions explode as she and Marc must race against time to prevent another murder. And if Charley’s not careful, she may find herself becoming the killer’s next plot twist.
It is a wonderful quaint community I grew up in Oakwood and no longer live there. It is a wonderful quaint community. The author pokes some fun at some of the social pressuresthere while offering a good suspenseful story. I really enjoyed the locations mentioned and felt that the characters were well developed.Being familiar with the town is not necessary in finding this book an entertaining read. Someone told me that this is the first installment ina series. I hope so!
Excellent First Novel Loved it!Â
Hang on for a thrilling ride! Charley Carpenter comes across a grisly scene on her way to her Agathas book club meeting. While she’s curious about what’s going on, the presence of Marcus Trenault, homicide detective for Oakwood, has her driving away before she finds out anything.Â