Veteran television writer M.V. Byrne debuts with the first Mitten
State Mystery featuring Jill-of-all-trades Isabel Puddles, a widowed
mother of two grown children who lives in the tiny hamlet along Lake
Michigan where she grew up. The only thing she loves as much as her
quirky hometown is reading a good murder mystery, but until she takes a
side job styling hair at the local funeral home, she never thought she'd
be living in one!
The only thing widow Isabel Puddles loves as much as her hometown of
Gull Harbor on the shores of Lake Michigan is cozying up to a good
mystery--but she never expected to be caught in the middle of one...
To the tourists and summer residents, Kentwater County is a picturesque
community of small-town charm, fruitful farmland, and gorgeous
freshwater beaches. To middle-aged widow Isabel Puddles, it's where she
enjoys breakfast every morning at a local café with her childhood best
friend and spends her evenings cozying up with a good book and her
devoted Jack Terrier, Jackpot. In between, Isabel makes ends meet
through a variety of trades--preserving pickles, baking pies, working
the counter at her cousin's hardware shop, and occasionally helping
fix-up the hair of corpses at the local funeral parlor.
When Isabel discovers a two-inch nail embedded in the skull of Earl
Jonasson, it seems the octogenarian may not have died of a stroke. His
son is quickly arrested when his alibi doesn't check out. But Isabel has
known Earl Jr. since they were kids and can't believe he'd murder his
own father, regardless of his financial difficulties. As gossip about
Earl Sr.'s land and insurance policy money starts to spread around the
county, Isabel finds herself conducting her own investigation to clear
her friend's name. But real detective work isn't like Jessica Fletcher's
Murder She Wrote mysteries, and she's meeting dangerous suspects who
don't like Isabel poking around in their business...
