
THE CLUES:
1. The boarding house had a freezer in the basement.
DEATH FOR DESSERT—When Jenna Stafford quits her dead-end job to help her sister Carly open a diner, she may have jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Even though business is really cooking, last time the sisters checked, murder was NOT on the menu. So who’s the dead guy out back? And why are there more police officers on the scene than there are paying customers? Can Jenna and Carly sort out their scrambled love lives and still find the missing ingredient in time to solve the crime before their goose is cooked?
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Sisters Christine Pearle Lynxwiler, Jan Pearle Reynolds, and Sandy Pearle Gaskin are usually on the same page. And it's most often a page from their favorite mystery. So when the idea for a Christian cozy mystery series came up during Sunday dinner at Mama's, they determined to take their dream further than just table talk. Thus the Sleuthing Sisters mystery series was born.
Christine writes full-time. She and her husband, Kevin, live with their two children in the beautiful Ozark Mountains and enjoy kayaking on the nearby Spring River. Jan, part-time writer and full-time office manager, and her husband, Steve, love to spend time with their two adult children and their granddogs on the lake or just relaxing at home. Sandy, part-time writer and retired teacher, works with her husband, Bart, managing their manufacturing business. She spends her spare time shuttling their teenager back and forth to school activities. But knowing how quickly these days will be gone, she wouldn't have it any other way.
OTHER HEARTSONG PRESENTS MYSTERIES BY CHRISTINE LYNXWILER, SANDY GASKIN, AND JAN REYNOLDS
DROP DEAD DIVA
Free Branson vacation…in exchange for a little elbow grease and moral support.
Jenna Stafford and her sister, Carly, dust off their cowboy boots, herd the kids into the SUV, and hightail it up to Branson, Missouri, to help with the grand opening of a friend’s theater. To their amazement, the glittering lights and twanging tunes make a perfect backdrop for…murder! The high-maintenance star of the show gets on everyone’s nerves. Until someone puts a permanent end to the diva’s demands. Carly and Jenna’s leading men are waiting in the wings. But with a whole band of suspects, can the sleuthing sisters make the killer play a different tune before their own song is silenced forever?
DEATH ON A DEADLINE
Headline News; Jenna Stafford's nephew is accused of killing his boss, the newspaper editor.
But stop the presses! Jenna recruits her sister, Carly, and they go undercover to get the scoop on the murder.
Will the next headline proclaim: Jenna and Carly Expose Killer? Or will the sleuthing sisters end up the featured
subjects in tomorrow's obit column?
Seoul Food by Elizabeth Ludwig
Part 1
Cho Hee Kim hiked her basket higher on her hip. All around people thronged the market place—pushing, shouting. As a member of the ruling regime, Cho Hee could easily have sent a servant for the snake meat she served to her guests every Tuesday night, but she enjoyed the bustle of the marketplace, and her worn dress and servant’s cloak gave her ample anonymity.
“Annyeong,” she greeted as she drew near to her favorite vendor, a wizened old man with thinning gray hair and eagle sharp eyes.
“Annyeong haseyo,” the vendor replied. “Here for your regular Tuesday purchase?”
Cho Hee smiled and added a quick nod. “Many guests tonight. I need something extra special.”
The vendor’s wrinkled cheeks lifted in a grin. “I have just the thing.” Reaching below the wooden plank that served as a counter, he pulled out a crate and dropped it before her with a thud.
Cho Hee picked up the lid and peered inside. The snake looked fresh. The vendor must have killed it specifically for her, knowing she would need just a such a delicacy for her honored guests. Smiling, she tipped her head. “It is perfect. Many thanks.”
She paid the vendor then slipped quietly into the crowd with her purchase, never guessing that just a few steps away, death waited to claim her, its icy cold fangs bared and ready to pierce her unsuspecting flesh.
Stay tuned next week for Part 2 of Seoul Food.
FOR DISCUSSION: What evil plot lies in store for Cho Hee?