Pret' Near Perfect Mystery #1: Well-Offed in Vermont

A NEW SERIES FROM ACCLAIMED MYSTERY AUTHOR AMY PATRICIA MEADE In bucolic small-town Vermont, tapestries expert Stella Thornton Buckley feels out of her element--and not just because she's fresh from Manhattan. Mere hours after moving to maple syrup country, she and her husband, Nick, find a dead man, Allen Weston, in a well on their property. The police investigation forces the couple out of their lovely vintage farmhouse and--since the motels are packed with leafpeepers--into a less than luxurious deer camp. Instead of mourning the loss of electricity and running water, Stella and Nick drive their Smart car all over the Vermont hamlet to question the quirky locals about Weston, a shrewd businessman who rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way.

Stella and Nick may never shed their flatlander reputation in this close-knit community, but can they get enough information from the taciturn townspeople to help Sheriff Mills solve the murder and sew up the investigation?

"At the start of this charming first in a new cozy series from Meade (Black Moonlight), New Yorkers Stella Buckley, a medieval tapestry specialist, and Nick, her forest ranger husband, are looking forward to moving into the 1890 farmhouse they've just purchased in Windsor County, Vermont. But when local businessman Allen Weston turns up dead in their water tank, they're locked out of their new home. Since they hope to move in before the winter, the couple involve themselves in the search for the killer. As the suspects — including an eccentric neighbor, a kindly sheriff, and their own realtor — pile up, Stella and Nick learn that nearly everyone wanted Weston dead — and that their investigation may be putting others in danger. Likable leads and unexpected twists help make up for the occasional clunky phrase or over-explained snippet of exposition." Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.