Molded 4 Murder

June 15, 2019
An aspiring detective in the Phoenix area lands another zany case. The staff of Williams Investigation includes secretary/receptionist Augusta; former police detective Nate Williams; Phee Kimball, the accountant who's proven to have a nose for murder (Botched 4 Murder, 2018, etc.); and Phee's boyfriend, Marshall, another former cop. The agency's helping the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office with a homicide at Sun City West, where Phee's mother, Harriet, lives with her eccentric Chiweenie, Streetman. But Phee is soon sidetracked by a visit from Gertie and Trudy, two elderly ladies who live in the Lillian, a high-end retirement home, where they claim someone's stealing things from the residents. Most are minor items easily misplaced, but one, a rare crimson glazed jar Sharon Smyth bought, turns out to be not only valuable, but also a clue in the murder of its creator, potter Quentin Dussler, who's been found dead clutching a piece of paper with Harriet's name. As Phee asks questions about the missing items, her mother and some friends who've recently joined the pottery club try to learn more about Dussler and the missing jar. Smyth made a copy of the signature, numbers, and designs on the bottom of the jar, and when Augusta suggests to Phee that it looks like a geocaching map, it turns out to be a very important clue, especially once Smyth becomes the next murder victim. When Phee and her Aunt Ina ride out to Punkin Center near the map coordinates found on the jar, the area is pockmarked with deserted old mines, and after Phee finds a water bottle from the Lillian, she's chased off by four-wheelers. Despite the stereotyping of the older characters, Phee gets many of her best ideas from her mother's oddball friend as she doggedly pursues answers. Sparkling characters amuse but are often overwhelmed by a complicated mystery.

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