Lois Winston, the author who always delights in placing me in situations where I find myself dealing with murder and mayhem has done it again. While everyone else spent the pandemic learning how to make artisanal sourdough bread, she was hard at work on the next book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series--the 10th! This time she's got me dealing with dead bodies at a conference where I'm teaching needlework workshops and judging a needlework competition.
Stitch, Bake, Die! will be available Oct. 4th, but you can pre-order your copy now.
An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 10
With massive debt, a communist mother-in-law, a Shakespeare-quoting parrot, and a photojournalist boyfriend who may or may not be a spy, crafts editor Anastasia Pollack already juggles too much in her life. So she’s not thrilled when her magazine volunteers her to present workshops and judge a needlework contest at the inaugural conference of the NJ chapter of the Stitch and Bake Society, a national organization of retired professional women. At least her best friend and cooking editor Cloris McWerther has also been roped into similar duties for the culinary side of the 3-day event taking place on the grounds of the exclusive Beckwith Chateau Country Club.
Marlene Beckwith, wife of the multi-millionaire pharmaceutical magnate and country club owner, is both the chapter president and conference chairperson. The only thing greater than her ego is her sense of entitlement. She hates to lose at anything and fully expects to win both the needlework and baking competitions.
When Anastasia and Cloris arrive at the conference, they discover cash bribes in their registration packets. The Society members, few of whom are fans of Marlene, stick up for the accused and instead suggest that Marlene orchestrated the bribes to eliminate her stiffest competition.
The next morning when Marlene is found dead, Anastasia questions whether she really died peacefully in her sleep. After Marlene’s husband immediately has her cremated, Anastasia once again finds herself back in reluctant amateur sleuth mode.
With the help of Cloris, Marlene’s personal assistant Rhetta, and a laptop someone will stop at nothing to find, Anastasia soon unravels evidence of insurance scams, medical fraud, an opioid ring, long-buried family secrets, and too many possible suspects. And that’s before she stumbles over the body of yet another member of the Stitch and Bake Society.
Can Anastasia piece together the various clues before she becomes the killer’s next target?
Crafting tips included.
Pre-order now. Available 10/04/21
Looking forward to reading this.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Dru! Hope you enjoy it!
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