Aggie Sloan-Wilcox is the minister's wife in the small town of Emerald Springs, Ohio. Life in the quaint town is anything but dull especially when Aggie finds herself in the midst of another murder investigation. While on a weekend getaway from their children and Aggie's mother, Ed Wilcox receives a disturbing phone call from one of his parishioners. Joe Wagner, the director of the Emerald Springs food bank, has gone missing and the last place he was known to be was New York coincidently where they are on their mini vacation. After a little sleuthing, they end up at a club where the entertainment is a drag queen review. Aggie spots a picture that is a little familiar. Is that Joe Wagner dressed as a woman? If Joe was in this club, then where is he now?

Ed and Aggie return home earlier than planned to deliver the news of their findings to Joe's wife, Maura, in person. She is concerned about what to tell people about Joe. He is supposed to be conducting the annual fundraiser for the food bank, and people are going to question his whereabouts when he doesn't show. The fundraiser brings an even larger shock than Joe's disappearance when the mayor's wife drops dead. When the mayor asks Aggie to look into his wife's untimely demise, she agrees to do some unofficial snooping much to her husband's dismay. Aggie has no shortage of suspects since no one was fond of the mayor's late wife, Hazel. Will Aggie be able to shed some light on who did Hazel in? Will Joe ever turn up or is he another murder mystery waiting to be solved? Who knew Emerald Springs would be such a busy town?

Emilie Richards delivers a witty murder mystery. Aggie Sloan-Wilcox is a great amateur sleuth who has an interesting sidekick in her best friend, Lucy. The entire cast of characters is amusing and each one adds to the charm and appeal of Emerald Springs. There are several different story lines -- Joe's disappearance, Hazel's murder, the mysterious whereabouts of the church punchbowl -- and all of them are given there due. Ms. Richards has created a lovable heroine and a fabulous town in which to base her mystery series. BEWARE FALSE PROFITS is a highly amusing mystery and a guaranteed winner.