Part of Series
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 stay buried...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
Author
My love of books started with weekly trips to the library as a child and from the moment I learned to read I can't remember a time that I didn't have at least one book going. For the past 25 years, that list has grown to include what I'm reading and what I'm writing at any given time. I began writing my Charlie Parker series when my husband and I lived on Kauai, then continued them in my home state of New Mexico. Charlie lives in Albuquerque and manages to travel to a variety of locations, wherever her investigation business and her husband's helicopter business take them. My second series featuring Samantha Sweet, the 50-ish woman who breaks into houses for a living, is set in Taos, New Mexico. In addition to reading and writing, I've traveled quite a lot, taught writing courses, and been a speaker at a whole lot of mystery conventions and writing conferences. In my spare time I also love to paint, draw, cook and spend time at the beach. Series: * Charlie Parker Mystery
