She Stopped for Death

November 14, 2016
References to Emily Dickinson and other classic authors lift Buzzelli’s suspenseful sequel to 2016’s A Most Curious Murder. Dora Weston, along with her newly divorced daughter, Jenny Weston, and their colorful author neighbor, Zoe Zola, are curious when a mysterious figure visits Dora’s Little Library in Bear Falls, Mich., late at night. Poems left at the Little Library point to the identity of the nocturnal patron: the town’s seldom seen but celebrated poet, Emily Sutton, who lives near a swamp. When the women finally speak with the skittish Emily, they are disconcerted to learn of the unexplained absence of Emily’s cousin and regular errand runner, Althea, and Emily’s sister, Lorna. Puzzled by Emily’s strange behavior, the disappearance of another poet who knew Emily, a long-ago fire that took the life of Emily’s mother, and other clues that don’t add up, Jenny and Zoe follow a trail to a grisly discovery. A riveting climax will have readers on the edge of their seats.

November 15, 2016
The reappearance of a reclusive poet causes a sensation in Bear Falls, Michigan.Jenny Weston returned to her childhood home and the comfort of spending time with her mother, Dora, after a bitter divorce. Her friend and neighbor Zoe Zola is a "Little Person" who writes fairy tales, has a garden full of fairy houses, and is currently writing a book on Emily Dickinson. Dora, a former librarian, has established a series of little libraries that invite visitors to leave a book and take a book. The latest visitor to the one at Dora's home is poet Emily Sutton, who leads a reclusive life in a decrepit house on the edge of the dangerous Peewee Swamp. Emily's mother was burned to death in their house, and she claims that her sister, Lorna, has run away. Now only cousin Althea Sutton shops for Emily. Slowly the ladies lure Emily out of hiding, and when Althea is found murdered, Emily agrees to let Zoe shop for her even though she's never allowed past the porch. Jenny, who's been building a tentative relationship with carpenter Tony Ralenti, a former cop, is shocked to see him with another woman. She hopes that helping Zoe and the police solve Althea's murder will take her mind off Tony's betrayal. When the town's wealthiest woman resolves to have Emily give a poetry reading, Jenny is surprised that Emily agrees. As Jenny and Zoe interact with the strange poet, they begin to uncover hidden secrets that may help solve more murders. The second case for the crime-solving friends (A Most Curious Murder, 2016) is a creepy tale filled with literary allusions and sporting a truly puzzling mystery.

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December 15, 2016
Jenny Weston has moved home to the northwest Michigan village of Bear Falls, following the breakup of her marriage. She's been seeing Tony Valenti, former Detroit cop, now carpenter and builder of Little Library boxes, but that isn't going anywhere. Sitting at home one late-summer evening, with her mother and their neighbor Zoe Zola, a writer, Jenny sees lights coming from the swampy area near their house. Investigating, they find poems deposited in the Little Library by the reclusive poet Emily Sutton. With the poems, Sutton has reached out to the community, revealing that she needs someone to bring groceries because her sister is gone, and her cousin Althea hasn't visited lately. Besides getting groceries, Zoe and Jenny agree to go to nearby Traverse City to see Althea, but they find her dead. Second in the Little Library series, this one nicely captures the feel of a summer tourist town. The backdrop of Zoe's new book and the connection of the poetry of Emily Sutton to that of Emily Dickinson add welcome literary touches.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)