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| Some of Lesley's second-had finds |
Mystery author Lesley A.
Diehl retired from her life as a professor of psychology and reclaimed her
country roots by moving to a small cottage in the Butternut River Valley in
upstate New York. In the winter she migrates to old Florida—cowboys, scrub
palmetto, and open fields of grazing cattle, a place where spurs still jingle
in the post office, and gators make golf a contact sport. Back north, the shy
ghost inhabiting the cottage serves as her literary muse. Learn more about
Lesley and her books at he website.
Channeling the Queen of Recycling, Reusing,
Repurposing
I had no idea growing up
that my tiny grandmother, eccentric to an extreme with her insistence on repurposing
my aunt’s clothes for her own use even though they were sizes too big for her, taking
auntie’s shoes and tying them on her feet with grosgrain ribbon and even reusing
her bath water to wash down the second floor hallway, would have such an impact
on my writing. She died when I was in college, and I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t
think much about her and then, whammo! She wriggles her way into my
protagonist’s choice of business.
Eve Appel is a gal who
believes in fashion, and why not? She lived in Connecticut and had access to
all the best stores in Hartford, and on the Connecticut coast. Travel to New
York City took little time. But then Eve moves to Florida, and not to Miami or
Naples or to West Palm. No. She chooses the wilds of rural Florida, the
pastures and swamps of the Okeechobee area.
What can a fashionistia do
there? Not only can she get away from her philandering hubby, but she can set
up a high-end consignment shop with her best friend, Madeleine, selling gently
used fashion from the society matrons of West Palm. Eve firmly believes, as did
my grandmother, that used merchandise is not only cheaper than new, but better
because finding it is like a scavenger hunt—fun for everyone and with a reward
at the end. Just like a mystery.
Who wouldn’t just die for a pair of Manolo Blahniks at less
than half the price?
And, of course, that is just
what happens. Someone dies. In her shop. In her dressing room. Trying to get a
size 14 body into a size 8 gown. That’s only the beginning of Eve’s need to
push her nose into every murder in the county.
In her newest caper, Eve
encounters an unpleasant owner of a game ranch who, she is sure, is responsible
for the murder of a client on another ranch owned by Madeleine’s current
squeeze. In A Sporting Murder, Eve
finds the killer with the help of her weapons of choice—her friends and
relatives. And we’re off and running on yet another caper in the swamps of
Florida. Oh, and by the way, thanks, Granny, for being the role model for
secondhand shopping. You’d be so proud of Eve.
A Sporting Murder
An Eve Appel Mystery, Book 3
It’s smooth sailing for Eve Appel and
her friend Madeleine, owners of Second to None Consignment Shop in rural
Florida’s Sabal Bay, land of swamps, cowboys, and lots and lots of ’gators. Eve
and her detective boyfriend Alex have joined Madeleine and her new beau David
Wilson for a pleasure cruise on his boat. But cloudy, dangerous waters lie
ahead. A near fatal encounter with Blake Reed, David’s supremely nasty
neighbor, is soon followed by a shooting death on the dividing line between
David and Blake’s land. Both men run sport-hunting reserves, but Blake imports
“exotics” from Africa and promotes gator killing, while David stays within the
law, pointing clients toward the abundant quail and turkey as well as the wild
pigs that ravage the landscape. Nevertheless, when a mutual client is killed,
it is David who is arrested and charged with murder.
Blake’s nastiness is only exceeded by
that of his wife, Elvira, who forces Eve and Madeleine out of their shop,
intending to replace it with a consignment shop of her own. It seems that bad
luck looms over them all, even Eve’s brawny and hard-to-resist Miccosukee
Indian friend Sammy, whose nephew has disappeared.
As the case against David grows
stronger and his friends’ misfortunes multiply, Eve and her strange and diverse
group of friends, including her ex, a mobster, her grandma, and Sammy’s
extended family, band together to take on the bad guys. But the waters are
getting muddier and more troubled, and Eve and Madeleine may end up inundated
in every sense of the word.
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