Since Ashley Wilkes works as an historic preservationist, it’s natural that stories from the past enter into Ashely’s present. Ashley’s sister, Melanie, who is a high-end real estate agent, is more concerned with the present, although she knows the history of any house in the historic district that goes on the market. Often their professional worlds collide and the sisters are forced to put their heads together to solve minor and not-so-minor crimes that occur in their beloved Wilmington.
This novel open with a bang. The sister’s Aunt Ruby has recently married. Her new husband, retired history professor Benjamin (Binky) Higgins, is a respected researcher and writer on local history. Binky has a new book out and the book signing at the Two Sister Bookery (an actual Wilmington bookstore) attracts a crowd. Only when the signing is over does Binky notice that his briefcase is missing. Searching the store, Ashley finds the briefcase is a store room under the body of a man who has been stabbed. That man is a wealthy Brit who was one of Melanie’s clients. He had been looking to buy an historic house and Ashley hoped it would be the Captain Pettigrew house, a structure that Ashley and her partner Jon are restoring.
While the police investigate the murder, Binky has time to examine a journal that may be what the murderer was after. Knowing that Binky has the journal, the murderer terrorizes Binky and Ruby. Meanwhile Ashley and Melanie cope with a demanding client, suspicious police, the structural–and other–surprises in the captain’s house, and Ashley’s soon-to-be-ex-husband, who wants one more chance.
Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.
