Synopses & Reviews
David Randall used to be a lively, carefree fellow with a talent for finding things. But his perfect family life was derailed when he lost his little daughter Lindsey in a car crash. Thrown out by his second wife and wanting to leave a dead-end detective agency to start his own, he reluctantly accepts his psychic friend Camden’s invitation to stay in his boarding house. Here he meets Kary Ingram; Ellin Belton, Camden’s intensely ambitious girlfriend; and an ever-changing assortment of Camden’s tenants, all searching for a home and family.When his client Melanie Gentry hires him to prove her great-grandmother was murdered by her lover, John Burrows Ashford, over authorship of “Patchwork Melodies,” Randall sets out to find a connection between this and the murder of Alfred Bennet as well as the murder of a Smithsonian director preparing a new PBS documentary on early American music. Things become complicated when Ashford’s spirit parks himself in Cam and refuses to leave until Randall proves Ashford’s innocence.
Review
"A gratifying blend of the surprising and the spirited." —
Publishers Weekly "Tesh...gets her new series off to a promising start." —
Kirkus Reviews "Tesh’s entertaining third cozy…[has] Amusing characters and charming village atmosphere"—
Publishers Weekly of
A Little Learning
Synopsis
2018 ALA Book Club October Pick, Things that Go Bump: Paranormal Mysteries
David Randall's perfect family life came derailed when his little daughter Lindsey died in a car crash. Thrown out by his second wife and wanting to leave a dead-end detective agency to start his own, he reluctantly accepts his psychic friend Camden's invitation to stay in Camden's boarding house in Parkland, North Carolina.
Meanwhile, working the case of the murder of Albert Bennett, Randall's only clue is a notebook filled with odd musical notation. When another client, Melanie Gentry, hires him to prove her great-grandmother was murdered by her lover, composer John Burrows Ashford, over authorship of "Patchwork Melodies," Randall sets out to find a connection to Bennett's murder, as well as to the murder of a Smithsonian director, who was preparing a new PBS documentary on early American music.
Randall's investigations lead him to another notebook, where he finds not only "Two Hearts Singing," Ashford's most famous song, but a valuable early copy of Stephen Foster's "Oh Susanna," hidden in the cover. But things become more complicated when Ashford's spirit parks itself in Cam...and refuses to leave until Randall proves Ashford's innocence.
About the Author
Jane Tesh lives and writes in Mt. Airy, North Carolina. A media specialist/librarian for grades K-6 for 30 years, she retired to write and exercise her creative side. A rehearsal pianist and sometime orchestra conductor for community theater, she also plays the violin, and is a certified kick-boxing instructor.