There is never a dull moment in the (fictitious) little town of St. Germaine, North Carolina. In this latest installment in the Liturgical Mysteries series, a body is found in the alley behind the town beauty parlor, and a young child is kidnapped. Are these two events related? Police Chief Hayden Koning thinks so, but before he gets far in his investigations, a singer is electrocuted during a service at St. Barnabas Church. (It isn’t a Liturgical Mysteries book unless a death occurs in or near St. Barnabas.) This, the tenth book in the series, contains the same cast of characters and many of the usual elements (another new rector, conflicts over the church’s liturgy, interesting minor characters) along with a few zany new additions–a truffle hunting pig and a Christian astrologer.
Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.
The grounds of Marshfield Manor are buzzing as history enthusiasts have started transforming the museum site into an 1860s Civil War campground for the upcoming week-long living history program. As scholars and buffs – and men, women, and children – reenact the past, there is one person who would not like a repeat of a certain previous episode. Unfortunately for Grace Wheaton, curator of the manor, she is about to get a bad case of déjà vu. What started as a minor disturbance with two strange women ended with a living listory leader dead. This scenario is all too familiar for Grace, whose tenure was fast-tracked as a result of her predecessor’s murder at the Manor only a few months earlier. As painful as those memories are for Grace, she learned much from them, and those lessons are proving useful this time. In the midst of trying to be useful to the detectives without getting in their way, Grace is also trying to negotiate the relationship she has with Jack Embers, the hunky landscape architect of Marshfield Manor. As she learns more about Jack, his family, and their past, Grace must use her strong discernment skills to trust her feelings. Her new, sweet friend, Bootsie the kitten, helps Grace relax and reflect on what she’s feeling.
If ever there was the time for Grace Wheaton to prove herself during her probationary period as Assistant Curator of Marshfield Manor, here it is. Screaming right in her face. What started as a regular day at her new job at the crown jewel of Emberstowne, North Carolina, ended with Grace trying to calm down a deranged visitor in the fancy tearoom, the Birdcage. Sadly, the day also included in the murder of Grace’s boss. With new responsibilities – and power – to keep the manor and museum running smoothly in the wake of this tragedy, Grace tries to help the overworked police get to the bottom of why anyone would want to kill the easy-going and respected curator. She immediately suspects that the true target was the estate’s owner, Bennett Marshfield, who had just testified against someone accused of running a Ponzi scheme. As Grace uncovers important clues, she also discovers long-buried family secrets. Exposing any of them could cost her her job – or even her life.
