File Size: 1320 KB
Print Length: 235 pages
Publisher: Alibi (November 8, 2016)
Publication Date: November 8, 2016
Sold by: Random House LLC
Language: English
Synopsis
As Susan Breen’s compelling cozy mystery series continues, Maggie Dove’s budding detective agency has given her a new lease on life. Only one thing stands in the way of success: her clients—or lack of them.
After catching the killer who shook her small Hudson River town, former Sunday School teacher Maggie Dove stumbled onto an exciting new career and found a way to take her mind off her own tragic past. Now, despite her best efforts to promote the agency, Maggie can’t seem to land any new cases—until Racine Stern, one of the village’s wealthiest residents, offers her a thousand dollars to convince her “evil” sister, Domino, to stay out of town.
While Maggie’s business partner thinks she’s crazy for turning down a potential client, she doesn’t want her agency to get a reputation for accommodating bizarre requests. However, Maggie is soon caught up in the family drama anyway. Racine may fear for her life—and her inheritance—but it’s Domino who takes the fall when she plunges to her death from a tower at Stern Manor. Was it an accident or something more sinister? Maggie’s investigation will test her faith—and her ability to survive.
This is the second in the series and I enjoyed this one. The characters have grown and are fun and bring you into the story where you are held until the end. From the beginning you won't want to put this book down. Maggie and her friends are on the case to solving a case that hits close to home for her. Find out what will happen in the lasted book.
Guest Post:
When my sons were in school, I worked as a volunteer at the school snack shop, which was known as Tuck. Essentially, for ten years, I spent every other Friday afternoon selling candy to kids. At a time when a lot of my friends were involved in soaring and impressive careers, such as being hedge fund managers or surgeons, I would sometimes feel a little silly when people asked me what I did. “Oh,” I would say, “I’m sorting candy alphabetically!”
However, I had a lot of fun working at Tuck, and I learned a lot of things that I’ve since put to good use. (There are two scenes in Maggie Dove’s Detective Agency that take place in a candy store and I can guarantee you, they’re authentic.) So what have I learned?
People do not tend to change the candy they order. If you are a Peanut M&M person (as am I) you are not likely to suddenly order Dots. (The dividing line seems to be chocolate versus gummy.)
A certain percentage of kids steal candy, and they are not the poor kids, necessarily. For some it seems to be a game. Can we cheat the nice candy lady? For others, it’s an act of aggression. (This is the sort of character analysis that comes in useful when writing murder mysteries.
Some kids make eye contact and thank you. Other kids throw their money at you. I prefer the former. All kids mumble, but you can usually figure out what they want by following the direction of their gaze. No one eats Raisinets.
In spite of the fact that every single candy bar costs 50 cents, and that all the money goes to charity, there will always be some kids who will want to haggle. This one looks damaged. Can I get for a quarter? No.
Kids say the darnedest things when they’re relaxed and eating candy, and if you want to know what your sons are up to, there are few better ways to find out than to sit down with them and share some M&Ms. Also, there’s nothing nicer than seeing a kid who’s having a bad day and being able to say, “Would you like a free candy bar?” Smile guaranteed!
How about you? Do you have a favorite candy bar?
About the Author:
Susan Breen is the author of The Fiction Class, her debut novel that won the Washington Irving Book Award. Her stories and articles have appeared in many magazines, among them The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Compose, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer. She teaches at Gotham Writers in Manhattan; is on the faculty of the New York Pitch Conference, South Carolina Writers Workshop, and the Women’s National Book Association; and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters-in-Crime. Breen lives in a small village on the Hudson River with her husband, two dogs, and one cat. Her three children are flourishing elsewhere.
Webpage – http://www.susanjbreen.com/about.htm
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