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Death in a Ghostly Hue
By Susan Van Kirk
An Art Center Mystery
The past never leaves us…
Jill Madison and her brothers have never forgiven Quinn Parsons for driving drunk and killing their parents. When Parsons returns to Apple Grove from his six years in prison, he’s looking for redemption. But his thoughtless actions, so long ago, hurt more residents than the Madisons, and people are taking bets on how long Quinn will survive.
Meanwhile, the Old Friends senior group at Jill’s art center is rehearsing a radio-play of Oscar Wilde’s “The Canterville Ghost,” a ghostly story of forgiveness. Jill and Angie are convinced a ghost is haunting the art center, so they decide to investigate. That’s never a good idea with these two.
Best Selling Author
Susan Van Kirk
I began writing at age sixty ACL [After Children Left.] Publishing a memoir about teaching over four decades called The Education of a Teacher (Including Dirty Books and Pointed Looks), I followed the axiom that we first write what we know. Once I retired from teaching in 2011, I decided to write mysteries. Why? I had devoured the 1500+ pages of Sherlock Holmes in fifth grade because it seemed like the next step after Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, and the Hardy Boys. After that, I read thousands of mysteries. Now, I’ve created a series called The Endurance Mysteries and peopled it with folks I love. Well, except for murderers. It’s a cozy series about a retired English teacher in a small town who helps her former student—now Detective TJ Sweeney—solve murders. Add a little love interest and a gloomy mansion, and I’m rolling. When my publisher folded their mystery line, I moved in a new direction, writing a standalone traditional mystery about Beth Russell, a genealogist and historical researcher. My latest cozy series is the Art Center Mysteries, featuring oil painter Jill Madison, who becomes Executive Director of a small-town art center with a scary basement. Seriously, don’t go down there.
The Book Shelf
Harlequin Worldwide Books
View a full list of Harlequin Mysteries.
Endurance Mysteries
View a full list of the original author series.
Art Center Mysteries
View a full list of the original author series.
The best cozy mystery genre reads are steeped in small-town atmosphere and interpersonal connections. A Death at Tippitt Pond … [is] … an absorbing mystery fueled by history, emotional attachments, and physical danger.
–D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
Van Kirk’s appealing mystery debut [Three May Keep a Secret]… introduces recently retired
teacher, Grace Kimball. Cozy fans will find a lot to like.
-Publishers Weekly
Small town America has never been made more real … an enthralling mystery involving two
strong women a hundred years apart. Well plotted and a very interesting read.