Indian Summer: An Edna Ferber Mystery

Although her novel Cimarron was the best-selling book of 1930, Edna Ferber reels from harsh criticism coming from Oklahoma. Folks there resent her portrait of the fledgling state. Stunned by the attacks, she finds her new novel, American Beauty, difficult to write. Venturing into Connecticut, exploring the rivalry between the old Yankees and the new Polish immigrants, she fears a new round of damning criticism. In desperation, she accepts an invitation from flamboyant Broadway actress Carlotta Small, now retired, to spend time at her home. Ferber hopes the colorful splendor of Indian Summer in the small village will reinvigorate her stalled novel.Instead, she finds murder. Next door, in fact.But was the wrong person murdered by accident? As she researches local history for her novel, she finds herself enmeshed in family disputes, neighborhood anger, and a clash between Polish farmers and the old-time residents who view them with distrust. Has this fiery ethnic divide resulted in the murder of a beloved woman? Or is there a secret everyone is running from? Amateur sleuth Ferber teams up with a young state trooper, Polish-American Stas Wolniak, but some locals see both as dangerous interlopers in the quiet village. Indian Summer in New England may be postcard beautiful, but Ferber is haunted by the dead body she discovered. She wants answers.