Well-Offed in Vermont (Pret' Near Perfect Mystery #1)

by Amy Patricia Meade

Overview

A NEW SERIES FROM ACCLAIMED MYSTERY AUTHOR AMY PATRICIA MEADE 

In bucolic small-town Vermont, tapestries expert Stella Thornton Buckley feels out of her element—and not just because she’s fresh from Manhattan. Mere hours after moving to maple syrup country, she and her husband, Nick, find a dead man, Allen Weston, in a well on their property. The police investigation forces the couple out of their lovely vintage farmhouse and—since the motels are packed with leafpeepers—into a less than luxurious deer camp. Instead of mourning the loss of electricity and running water, Stella and Nick drive their Smart car all over the Vermont hamlet to question the quirky locals about Weston, a shrewd businessman who rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way.

Stella and Nick may never shed their flatlander reputation in this close-knit community, but can they get enough information from the taciturn townspeople to help Sheriff Mills solve the murder and sew up the investigation?

 

 

                                                                                                           

 

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738730554
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Publication date:	11/08/2011
Series:	Pret' Near Perfect Mystery , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Author of the critically acclaimed Marjorie McClelland Mysteries, Amy Patricia Meade is a native of Long Island, N.Y., where she earned bachelor's degrees in English and business. She enjoys traveling, cooking and classic films, and is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Her Pret' Near Perfect Mystery series debuts this November with Well-Offed in Vermont, and she is the author of the forthcoming Rosie the Riveter Mystery series (Kensington). Meade now lives in Vermont and spends the long New England winters writing mysteries with a humorous or historical bent.

 

Author of the critically acclaimed Marjorie McClelland Mysteries, Amy Patricia Meade is a native of Long Island, N.Y., where she earned bachelor's degrees in English and business. She enjoys traveling, cooking and classic films, and is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Her Pret' Near Perfect Mystery series debuts this November with Well-Offed in Vermont, and she is the author of the forthcoming Rosie the Riveter Mystery series (Kensington). Meade now lives in Vermont and spends the long New England winters writing mysteries with a humorous or historical bent.

 

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Editorial Reviews

"Meade successfully segues from her historicals (Black Moonlight) to this snappy yet traditional contemporary. She brings us pitch-perfect dialog, original characters, and enormous potential for a fun series."—Library Journal

"A charming first in a new cozy series from Meade."—Publishers Weekly

"The first in a new series for Meade features yet another set of bright young detectives along with some unlikely scenarios."—Kirkus Reviews

"Quaint characters and settings abound in this outing by New Yorker-turned-Vermonter Amy Patricia Meade."—Mystery Scene

From the Publisher

Imagine that you have just moved into your dream home in a bucolic Vermont village, only to find a dead guy in your well—make that a murdered guy. Young professionals Stella and Nick thought moving from Manhattan would be a slice of paradise, but now they are locked out of their home and forced to figure out what possible motive led to this local businessman's demise. The couple makes it their business to solve the crime, and their intrepid spirit catches the locals by surprise, including the somewhat hapless sheriff. VERDICT Meade successfully segues from her historicals (Black Moonlight) to this snappy yet traditional contemporary. She brings us pitch-perfect dialog, original characters, and enormous potential for a fun series. Buy now and get in on the ground floor!

Library Journal

A Manhattan couple find moving into their recently purchased Vermont home just a tad more complicated than they expected. Stella and Nick Buckley are making big changes in their lives to accommodate Nick's dream of following a career with the Forest Service. Arriving at their circa-1890 farmhouse with all their possessions, they plan on a romantic night before they get down to the business of moving in. But things go differently. First they are disturbed by a neighbor bearing cupcakes, then by the discovery of a body in their well. The dead man is Allen Weston, whose contract to fix the well didn't include any such hands-on services. Weston had the reputation of being a sharp businessman who boasted many enemies. Local sheriff Charlie Mills forces Nick and Stella to leave the premises, since they're now a crime scene. But an old friend of his, local bakery owner Alma Deville, who knows that the whole area is overrun with leaf peepers who have booked every available room, offers them the use of a sparsely furnished hunting camp. Stella, acutely aware of her disadvantaged status as a flatlander and newcomer, is convinced that solving the case will be the quickest way to get them into their new home. A second murder adds urgency to their sleuthing. The first in a new series for Meade (Black Moonlight, 2010, etc.) features yet another set of bright young detectives along with some unlikely scenarios.

Kirkus Reviews