Why did dear departed Aunt Cady have an exquisite old painting buried beneath World War II paraphernalia? And how can a painting so dramatically shift Claire's perspective on everything from her uninspired love life to her ho-hum job in the Oregon state custom license plate division?MSTBF8 (must be fate) A sophisticated art expert tells Claire the painting isn't valuable. Why, then, is she being followed, her hotel room getting ransacked, and her life being thrown in a state of havoc that reaches back to her quiet home in Portland? The closer Claire comes to the truth about her inherited masterpiece, the more questions—and trouble—she uncovers. Though offers of help are arriving in very intriguing packages, Claire is caught in the middle of a dangerous tug-of-war that can leave her either richer in body, soul, and bank book—or broken, battered, and pushing up daisies.

Hapydaze Once upon a time, Clair Montrose was a mousy employee in the Oregon State License Plate Division approving vanity plates. Now this part-time sleuth has an artist boyfriend in New York City and a quirky group of friends and family that keep her happy in Portland. But danger is never far away... Helpp! When her friend and former coworker, Lori, calls with an urgent request, Claire can't say no. Lori's son is ill, and his only hope is a bone marrow transplant from a sibling. Long ago, Lori had a baby—a girl she gave up for adoption to a secretive agency. Now, she needs Clair to find her long-lost daughter. Dangrus Scouring the city, Claire has little to go on besides common sense and her own two feet. Using her wits, charm, and savvy sleuthing skills, she begins to dig up old secrets—secrets someone will kill to keep buried. Now, it's not just a young boy's life hanging in the balance, but Clair's as well.

Amateur sleuth Claire Montrose gets more than she bargained for when she attends her twenty-year high-school reunion and a secret admirer sends her a heart-shaped box marked with death, and she must uncover an elusive killer. Reprint.

From the back - When former vanity license plate inspector Claire Montrose finds a valuable diamond ring embedded in an old stone wall, she's uncovered more than lost jewelry - she's just unwittingly exposed a fifty-year-old murder. Claire's octogenarian housemate, Charlie, recognizes the ring with shock. It belonged to Elizabeth Ellsworth, a woman who broke off her engagement fifty years earlier, then killed herself. All the "old gang" believed Elizabeth had returned the ring, so how did it get buried inside a stone wall? As half-century-old questions resurface about the incident, Claire discovers more about the terrible secrets Elizabeth kept—and why someone wanted her dead. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more Claire realizes that someone believes old crimes must stayburied...at all cost. "Cozy trappings...effectively contrast with chilling glimpses of Charlie's concentration camp days...(and) a vivid cast of elderly characters." Publishers Weekly