“The Alpine Vengeance”
Nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, the charming hamlet of Alpine is preparing for Thanksgiving, while Emma Lord, editor and publisher of The Alpine Advocate, feels her spirits sink.
There will be no family or friends to share the day, but a call from Sheriff Milo Dodge on the Monday after the holiday weekend leaves her no time to wallow.
Three alarming letters, sent to the sheriff from an anonymous writer, assert that the murder conviction of Alpine resident Larry Petersen 10 years earlier was the result of a wrongful arrest.
Adding to the miscarriage of justice, Petersen recently died behind bars. Then a fourth letter arrives, threatening retribution in the form of another death—most likely Emma’s or Milo’s.
Mary Daheim’s Emma Lord novel is a rich and authentic blend of small-town life and chilling menace.
“The Alpine Scandal”
It's a quiet morning at the Advocate until the mail brings shocking news: a formal obituary for Alpiner Elmer Nystrom.
As far as anyone knows, Elmer is alive and well. But he hasn’t turned up for work, so Emma and her unstoppable House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, rush to the Nystrom home, where they find Elmer's lifeless body in the henhouse, half buried under straw.
Not only has he been murdered, but his obituary had been mailed before he died.
Though Elmer was well liked by everyone, the same cannot be said of his standoffish wife or his son, the town's new orthodontist. Rumors fly straight into the office of the Advocate.
Why did Dr. Nystrom's new receptionist resign at the end of her first day? Why are the Nystroms neighbors so close-mouthed? Who mailed that prophetic obituary?
With Sheriff Milo Dodge in the hospital, it's up to Emma and Vida to get to the bottom of the tragedy. Alpiners love scandal, and with Elmer's murder, they ll get their fill.
“The Alpine Scandal,” No. 19 in this bestselling series, is as suspenseful and charming as its predecessors, a delicious look into the life of a small town where all inhabitants know one another just not as well as they thought.
Realizing at an early age that getting published in books with real covers might elude her for years, she worked on daily newspapers and in public relations to help avoid her creditors.
She lives in her hometown in a century-old house not unlike Hillside Manor, except for the body count. Daheim is also the author of the Alpine mystery series and the mother of three daughters.
