Today, I’m delighted to host mystery author, Edith Maxwell.
Agatha- and Macavity-nominated author Edith Maxwell writes the Local Foods Mysteries, the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the popular Country Store Mysteries and the new Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. She is president of Sisters in Crime New England and lives north of Boston with her beau and two elderly cats.
I’m delighted to be featured here. Thanks, Evie, for inviting me! I’m so excited that Death Over Easy releases in eleven days.
Death Over Easy
Restaurateur Robbie Jordan is ready for the boost in business a local bluegrass festival brings to South Lick, Indiana, but the beloved event strikes a sour note. The celebration is cut short when a performer is found choked to death by a banjo string. Now all the banjo players are featured in a different kind of lineup. To clear their names, Robbie must pair up with an unexpected partner to pick at the clues and find the plucky killer before he – or she – can conduct an encore performance.
Here’s a short excerpt, where the county sheriff’s department detective is questioning Robbie Jordan in her Country Store restaurant, Pans ‘N Pancakes:
“Detective, how was Pia killed? I know Isaac found her body, but was she shot? Poisoned? Stabbed?” I paused in my assembly of the dry ingredients for pancake batter.
The detective tapped her hand on the end of the counter where she’d laid her tablet. “I hear you’ve acted as an amateur detective previously.”
“Not exactly. I simply kept getting drawn into murder cases.” I shrugged.
“I’ll tell you the method, but first I’d like your word that this time you won’t get ‘drawn in’ to my investigation.” She surrounded the words in finger quotes.
“Fine with me,” I answered. But was it?
“Ms. Bianchi was choked. Garroted, actually.”
Garroted? “You mean with a rope or something?” A shudder rippled through me at the thought.
“It was actually a metal wire. We’re looking into whether it was an instrument string, and if so, designed for which instrument.”
“Wow. With thousands of musicians in the county this week.”
“Exactly…”
