Varnished without a Trace

July 15, 2020
Murder and arson upend the calm of a Pennsylvania hamlet. Because Tallie Graver's family owns the local funeral home and is related to nearly everyone in town, she knows all the bingo queens at the Christmas Eve game, including nasty Ronda Hogart, whose more popular husband, Uncle Hoagie, owns the local hardware store. Tallie, who seems to be a magnet for murder, finds Ronda dead, her head bashed in by a can of varnish, outside the bingo hall. Police Chief Burton, a very reluctant partner in the past, has either grown more appreciative of Tallie's sleuthing talents or has given up trying to discourage her. The plot thickens when Uncle Hoagie goes missing and a dead body that looks remarkably like him is found near the hardware store. Although Tallie usually shuns the funeral business, she recognizes that the body was already embalmed and tracks it down to a West Virginia funeral home. Tallie's cleaning business provides a perfect excuse for her to start up casual conversations, and she soon learns that Hoagie's children think he's dead and are already fighting over the business, which he's left to his longtime assistant. After grilling her grandmother and other elderly relatives, Tallie discovers that Uncle Hoagie is not actually related to anyone in town. All Tallie and her boyfriend, Max, have to do is solve the murder and discover an arsonist in order to have a merry Christmas. The down-to-earth heroine's sense of humor enriches this quirky holiday mystery.

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